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COraRICHT DEPOSm 



STUDIES IN CHRISTIAN LIFE WORK 

The Commiesion on life Service and the Board of Sunday Schools co>operating 

Builders of the Kingdom 

A Study of Opportunities for Life Service 



An Elective Course for Young People 



BY 

HOWARD M. LeSOURD 



Approved by the Committee on Curriculum 

of the Board of Sunday Schools of the 

Methodist Episcopal Church 




THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN 
NEW YORK CINCINNATI 



.14 



Copyright, 1922, by 
HOWARD M. LeSOURD 



Printed in the United States of America 



The Bible text used in this volume is taken from the American Standard 
Edition of the Revised Bible, copyright, 1901, by Thomas Nelson & Sons, and 
is used by permission. 



•JIJN -9 1922 

©CI.A677041 



CONTENTS 

CHAFTBB PAGB 

The Investment of Life 5 

I. An Adequate Life Purpose 7 

II. The Choice op a Lipework 15 

III. The Leadership of the Preacher 22 

IV. The Reach op the Ministry 30 

V. The Need for Religious Education 37 

VI. Teachers as Builders 45 

VII. Christianity and Health 52 

VIII. "The Gospel and the Plow" 59 

IX. Opportunities in Rural Leadership 65 

X. The Kingdom's Call to Women 73 

XI. Special Types op Service 80 

XII. The Obligations of a Christian Layman 86 

XIII. The Great Investment 93 



THE INVESTMENT OF LIFE 

Where can my life be made to count for the most? 
Where can I be of greatest service in the world? Of the 
possible opportunities before me which are the most worth 
while ? Such questions as these are being increasingly con- 
sidered by thoughtful young people. As a result a growing 
number are enlisting in various forms of Christian life 
service. That hosts of other young people, whose thought 
has perchance never been directed along lines of possible 
life service, have not seriously considered the problem of 
life investment suggests the urgent need for just such a dis- 
cussion as this book supplies. 

The need appears even greater when it is realized that 
the supply of thoroughly trained men and women is en- 
tirely insufficient to meet present needs. If the program 
of the evangelical churches for the building of the kingdom 
of Christ in the world is to be carried forward, a larger 
number of young people must be enlisted in Christian life 
service. 

The author's treatment of the various avenues of life- 
work open to young people, while not making the false 
distinction between religious and secular, seeks to empha- 
size the special opportunities of the more distinctively 
Christian-service professions. In this respect it puts the 
issue squarely up to young people in our church schools : 
Shall they seek out the most profitable positions for them- 
selves or shall they invest their all in the cause of the 
Kingdom ? 

It will also be observed that, throughout, the text vigor- 
ously emphasizes the need of adequate preparation for one's 
lifework. It is generally recognized that a physician must 
have years of college and professional training before he 
may begin his practice, but is the necessity for thorough 
professional preparation for the preacher, the teacher, and 
the missionary evangelist as clearly seen ? If the study of 
this course does no more than to arouse the desire and 
strengthen the determination of the students to get for 

5 



6 THE INVESTMENT OF LIFE 

themselves the best college training available it will have 
been eminently worth while. 

The studies in this book will be found most admirably 
suited for use at the Sunday-school hour. That the prob- 
lems of life service which they present might be considered 
quite directly in the light of the Scriptures, appropriate 
Bible texts have been printed in full at the heads of the 
respective chapters. If the teacher will encourage his 
students to engage freely in discussion and will assign 
definite problems for study and report, the discussions that 
make up this text will transform themselves into staunch 
life purposes. Will that end not justify the most careful 
preparation and planning on the part of the leader ? 

To the one who peruses this book alone, without benefit 
of the give-and-take of class discussion, we suggest the im- 
portance of careful attention to the questions for thought 
and discussion which appear at the end of each chapter. 

The Editoes. 



CHAPTER I 

AN ADEQUATE LIFE PUEPOSE 

Esther 4. 10-16. 

10 Then Esther spake unto Hathach, and gave him a mes- 
sage unto Mordecai, saying: 11 All the king's servants, and 
the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, 
whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the 
inner court, who is not called, there is one law for him, that 
he be put to death, except those to whom the king shall hold 
out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been 
called to come in unto the king these thirty days. 12 And 
they told to Mordecai Esther's words. 

13 Then Mordecai bade them return answer unto Esther, 
Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's 
house, more than all the Jews. 14 For if thou altogether 
boldest thy peace at this time, then will relief and deliverance 
arise to the Jews from another place, but thou and thy father's 
house will perish: and who knoweth whether thou art not 
come to the kingdom for such a time as this? 15 Then Esther 
bade them return answer unto Mordecai, 16 Go, gather to- 
gether all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye 
for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: 
I also and my maidens will fast in like manner; and so will I 
go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if 
I perish, I perish. 
Joshua 1. 8, 9. 

8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, 
but thou Shalt meditate thereon day and night, that thou 
mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: 
for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou 
shalt have good success. 9 Have not I commanded thee? Be 
strong and of good courage; be not affrighted, neither be thou 
dismayed: for Jehovah thy God is with thee whithersoever 
thou goest. 

Matt. 5. 13-16. 

13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost its 
savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for 
nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men. 
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot 
be hid. 15 Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under the 
bushel, but on the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in 
the house. 16 Even so let your light shine before men; that 
they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who 
is in heaven. 



8 BUILDEES OF THE KINGDOM 

Luke 12. 13-21. 
13 And one out of the multitude said unto him. Teacher, 
bid my brother divide the inheritance with me. 14 But he 
said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over 
you? 15 And he said unto them. Take heed, and keep your- 
selves from all covetousness : for a man's life consisteth not 
in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. 16 And 
he spake a parable unto them, saying. The ground of a certain 
rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 and he reasoned within 
himself, saying. What shall I do, because I have not where to 
bestow my fruits? 18 And he said. This will I do: I will pull 
down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all 
my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul. Soul, 
thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, 
eat, drink, be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou foolish 
one, this night is thy soul required of thee; and the things 
which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be? So is he 
that layeth up tre3<sure for himself, and is not rich toward 
God. 

The young people of to-day are entering upon their life- 
work at a time when great issues are at stake. Large op- 
portunities are challenging them to vigorous action. Never 
were far-sighted, constructive leaders needed more than 
now, when great industrial, social, and international prob- 
lems are demanding solution. 

Queen Esther faced a crisis in her day. Her people were 
about to be destroyed by a cruel and jealous prince, and 
hope lay only in a direct appeal to the king, whose favorite 
wife she was. Even for her to enter the throne room un- 
summoned was punishable by death, but the need of her 
people required courageous action. Her uncle, Mordecai, 
summed up her opportunity thus : "Who knoweth whether 
thou art not come to the kingdom for such a time as this ?^^ 
It was her chance. Her radiant beauty and grace £ind her 
qualities of soul, which made her a queen not in name only, 
but also in fact, fitted her for the delicate mission of plead- 
ing the cause of the Jews before King Ahasuerus. Because 
of her willingness to risk all for a great cause she was able 
to avert the impending disaster. 

Young people who read this book, who knows whether 
you are not come to this world for such a time as this? 
Great needs call to you. Tremendous responsibilities for 
social rebuilding are laid upon you. Each of you can find 
a large field of usefulness if you search with patience. 



AN ADEQUATE LIFE PUEPOSE 9 

This course of study is intended to help you solve the 
all-important question of your lifework. As logs in a re- 
ceding river are deposited in this or that bayou along the 
bank, some young people often drift into their vocations, 
taking their chance with the elements about them and 
hoping for good fortune. But you should not be satisfied 
with such an attitude toward life and its work. You ought 
to feel that you are the captain of your life and the master 
of your own career. 

1. What is the first step in the selection of a lifework? 
The first step in the direction of choosing your lifework is 
the forming of a great purpose. A ship without a rudder 
is no more helpless than a life without an aim. No matter 
how big and powerful the engine, the rudderless ship never 
arrives; and no matter how much enthusiasm and drive 
may be possessed, one will never reach any worthy end 
without the directing influence of an all-embracing life 
purpose. Not ^^What shall I choose as my lifework ?^^ but 
"What shall I strive to accomplish during my life ?^^ is the 
first question that must be decided. 

2. What are some familiar inadequate life purposes? 
The desire to accumulate money, to have large farms, to 
own many houses, to have a safety-deposit box filled with 
stocks and bonds, are not complete aims in themselves. 
The yearning for political position, for the mayoralty of 
your city, for a place in the Legislature, for the governor- 
ship, and even for the Presidency of the United States are 
not adequate purposes. If you will stop to analyze these 
you will see that they should be merely means by which an 
ultimate goal may be attained. Even vocations are means, 
not ends. Being a doctor is a means of keeping people in 
good health. Farming is a means of raising food to sustain 
life. Teaching is a means of educating. And when we 
think it through we discover that life, health, and educa- 
tion are still inadequate, for they are only means to the 
ends for which we should strive. 

3. What are some adequate life purposes? Social pur- 
poses alone are adequate. Eaising food for other people to 
eat, making clothes for other people to wear, building 
homes in which other people can live, bringing health and 
strength to people who are sick, teaching people the things 



10 BUILDEES OF THE KINGDOM 

they ought to know, making justice and peace prevail 
throughout the world — these are worthy life purposes be- 
cause they contribute to the building of an ideal world. 

The establishment of consideration, justice, helpfulness, 
and love as the foundations of human relations is a funda- 
mental aim that should permeate all human endeavor. 
War's oppression and industrial exploitation should be 
done away. Cooperation should supplant competition, and 
rivalry must give way to mutual service. These ideals 
should be made to pervade all walks of life. Political 
activity, business enterprises, and industrial processes must 
all yield to their universal application. Only as all the 
institutions of earth are infused with the spirit of love, 
and only as all men deal with other men in harmony with 
the principles of cooperation and good will, can the better 
world be realized. 

A new social spirit must be created. States with their 
rivalries and bickerings, races with their jealousies and 
prejudices, must all learn the meaning of brotherhood. 
Fundamental in all Christian teaching is the fatherhood of 
God, and with it goes a common sonship that means uni- 
versal brotherhood. Missionaries and social reformers have 
been heralds of a new day, in which all barriers will be 
broken down and mankind united in one great human 
family. 

4. Where do we get this idealism? It has come from 
one great source — Jesus Christ. As Christians we take for 
our ultimate aims those which are in line with the purpose 
of God. We seek from Jesus the aim of his life, that we 
may be able to cooperate with him in its fulfillment. As 
a group of his followers we must make Christ's spirit our 
spirit, his ideals our ideals, his aims our aims. That is 
what being a Christian means. Nothing less meets the 
standard. Our loyalty to him is always to be tested by the 
degree to which our lives count for the things he sought 
to accomplish. 

5. How did Jesus sum up his purpose? Jesus summed 
up in one phrase the purpose to which he gave his life: 
^^the kingdom of God.'' In the prayer he taught his dis- 
ciples the first great petition had to do with this all-inclu- 
sive ideal : "Thy kingdom come." To this he adds an ex- 



AN ADEQUATE LIFE PUEPOSE 11 

planatory clause: "Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on 
earth/^ so that there might be no mistake as to the essential 
meaning of this expression. The will of God must there- 
fore be the basis of all human relationships and the test of 
all human endeavor. In the teachings about the Kingdom 
we find the meaning and purpose of life, for the Kingdom 
is God^s revelation of his ideals to his children. 

To Jesus the kingdom of God represented the highest 
good for which men might strive. "Seek ye first his king- 
dom^' is his exhortation. In two parables he endeavors to 
impress this idea : "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a 
treasure hidden in the field ; which a man found, and hid ; 
and in his joy he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and 
buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like 
unto a man that is a merchant seeking goodly pearls : and 
having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all 
that he had, and bought if' (Matt. 13. 44-46). All else 
in the thought of Jesus was of little consequence in com- 
parison with the Ejngdom. The hope of mankind lies only 
in this direction, for with the dominance of sin aU must 
be misery, sorrow, and degradation ; while with the rule of 
God all would be prosperity, happiness, and full attainment. 

6. Are there individual requirements as well as a social 
ideal in the Kingdom program? It must be very evident 
that an ideal social order requires ideal individuals. In 
fact, the new society can develop only as men and women 
live the Kingdom life. Most of Jesus^ teaching, therefore, 
treats of this aspect of Kingdom building. He sees the 
Ejngdom spirit pervading the world as leaven works in 
the meal. He lays emphasis on the inner attitudes of men. 
Childlike simplicity, teachableness, and earnestness are 
prime essentials. Eiches seem almost a bar, for these en- 
courage pride and self-satisfaction. Jesus sets forth in the 
Beatitudes the qualities that are demanded — meekness, 
mercy, purity of heart, a hunger for righteousness. As 
individuals exemplify in their own lives these character- 
istics which are the essence of the Kingdom, they become 
real citizens of the new order. 

Jesus realized the impossibility of cultivating the King- 
dom qualities of life in the abstract. He only is merciful 
who shows mercy to other people. One cannot have the 



12 BUILDERS OF THE KINGDOM 

spirit of love without manifesting that love to the indi- 
viduals around him. The social setting is assumed in all 
the teaching of Jesus, but in Luke 17. 21 Jesus expressly 
states that ^^the kingdom of God is within you^^; and if it 
is not there it does not exist at all. 

"By their fruits ye shall know them/^ says Jesus. The 
business man who grabs all he can and pays the smallest 
possible wages to his employees, the lawyer who seeks fees 
rather than justice, the officeholder who desires promotion 
rather than social welfare, the people who put profits before 
human values, have not love, and the kingdom of God is 
not within them. An adequate life purpose will determine 
every relationship because of its individual control of every- 
day life. 

7. When will the kingdom of God be realized? The 
Kingdom is present now as its ideals are embodied in indi- 
vidual lives. Wherever there is a man or woman who lives 
according to the will of God as it is made specific to us in 
the teachings and life of Christ, there the Kingdom has 
been established and is in operation. The obstacle to the 
Kingdom is sin ; and when sin is eliminated, the Kingdom 
flourishes. 

On one occasion, when Jesus was attacked by the chief 
priests and elders in the Temple, he said to them, ^The 
publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God 
before you^^ (Matt. 21. 31). The tense of this answer is 
present, for to Jesus entrance into the Kingdom was im- 
mediate whenever individuals of any sort met the con- 
ditions. 

But Jesus thought of the Kingdom also in terms of 
future realization. It would never be completely estab- 
lished until all men, all activities, and all governments 
were fulfilling the will of the heavenly Father. It was to 
begin as the mustard seed; but in the unfolding years, by 
the law of growth, the full tree was inevitable. Jesus was 
interested that the seeds of the Kingdom be sown, knowing 
that if this were done, God would care for the harvest; for 
"the earth beareth fruit of herself ; first the blade, then the 
ear, then the full grain in the ear'' (Mark 4. 28). 

There are some people who still proclaim that the world 
is growing worse and that it will continue to increase in 



AN ADEQUATE LIFE PUEPOSE 13 

wickedness. Such a belief as this could not come from a 
careful study of the teachings of Jesus. He looks forward 
to a new earth in which the rule of God will prevail, mani- 
festing itself in terms of an inner spirit of righteousness 
and love, and fulfilling itself by gradual growth until this 
goal is attained. When that time comes, universal brother- 
hood, in all its truest and highest meaning, will have 
become a reality. 

8. What provision did Jesus make for the realization of 
his purpose ? At the very beginning of Jesus^ ministry he 
chose twelve disciples to accompany him. .He realized that 
he must train leaders to carry on his work, for his early 
death would leave in the hands of others the fulfillment of 
his purpose. After that first Easter morn the faithful 
eleven, knowing that their Master lived, took up the work 
just where Jesus left off. "Go ye into all the world, and 
preach the gospel to the whole creation^' (Mark 16. 15) 
was his great commission. The disciples had only par- 
tially comprehended his message but they did their best to 
make the will of God, as they saw it, supreme in the world. 

Now almost two thousand years have passed, and still 
the purpose of Jesus is unfulfilled. Each generation of 
followers has passed on to the next the uncompleted task. 
Progress has been made, but the Kingdom is still in the 
future. What will this generation do to bring it nearer to 
realization ? 

9. What is our responsibility ? If all who bear the name 
of Christian would take as their purpose in life the build- 
ing of the Kingdom, great strides would be made. But 
the responsibility begins with ourselves. As we take for 
our life aim some practical contribution to the comfort and 
richness of the lives of others and cooperate with Jesus in 
the establishment of the kingdom of God, and as we study 
the full implications of this decision we shall have a foun- 
dation upon which we can build the superstructure of an 
eminently useful life. Thus we shall have an adequate life 
purpose. 

Questions foe Thought and Discussion 

1. How are we to measure success ? What people in your 
community do you consider most successful, and why ? 



U BUILDEES OF THE KINGDOM 

2. How may people know what is meant by the king- 
dom of God ? Talk with some intimate friend concerning 
his or her idea of the purpose of Jesus. 

3. How will this Kingdom purpose of Jesus affect the 
social order? As to industry, politics, business, race feel- 
ing, etc. 

4. How would you define a Christian ? What standards 
would you set up to test your own life ? 

5. How did Jesus expect his kingdom to be realized ? 

6. When will the Kingdom be established ? 



CHAPTEE II 

THE CHOICE OP A LIPEWOEK 

Rom. 12. 1-21. 

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, 
to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to 
God, which is your spiritual service. 2 And be not fashioned 
according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renew- 
ing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and 
acceptable and perfect will of Gk>d. 

3 For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every 
man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly 
than he ought to think; but so to think as to think soberly, 
according as God hath dealt to each man a measure of faith. 
4 For even as we have many members in one body, and all 
the members have not the same office: 5 so we, who are many, 
are one body in Christ and severally members one of another. 
6 And having gifts differing according to the grace that was 
given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to 
the proportion of our faith; 7 or ministry, let us give our- 
selves to our ministry; or he that teacheth, to his teaching; 
8 or he that exhorteth, to his exhorting: he that giveth, let 
him do it with liberality; he that ruleth, with diligence; he 
that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness. 

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil; 
cleave to that which is good. 10 In love of the brethren be 
tenderly affectioned one to another; in honor preferring one 
another; 11 in diligence not slothful; fervent in spirit; serv- 
ing the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; 
continuing stedfastly in prayer; 13 communicating to the 
necessities of the saints; given to hospitality. 14 Bless them 
that persecute you; bless, and curse not. 15 Rejoice with 
them that rejoice; weep with them that weep. 16 Be of the 
same mind one toward another. Set not your mind on high 
things, but condescend to things that are lowly. Be not wise 
in your own conceits. 17 Render to no man evil for evil. 
Take thought for things honorable in the sight of all men. 
18 If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with 
all men. 19 Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place 
unto the wrath of God: for it is written. Vengeance belongeth 
unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord. 20 But if thine 
enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him to drink: for 
in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head. 21 Be 
not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. 

15 



16 BUILDERS OF THE KINGDOM 

Most young people are interested in the selection of 
their lif ework. They think of first one vocation and then 
another as possible choices. Most of this speculation is 
based upon first impressions of the work and only partial 
understanding of their own abilities. Since one's useful- 
ness in life depends on a wise choice, and since one's effec- 
tiveness is in proportion to his love of the work, to fail in 
the proper selection of a vocation is to fail unspeakably. 

When one has begun to think of one's lif ework in terms 
of a great, consuming purpose, the next step is a study of 
the various factors that enter into the actual choice. In 
this chapter the attempt is made to set forth certain prin- 
ciples which, if followed conscientiously, will help young 
people to think clearly on the fundamental problem of 
lifework. 

1. What is the first principle that should determine 
your selection of a lifework? The first principle to be 
applied to the choice of your lifework is the principle of 
needs. AH worth-while effort is devoted to the supplying 
of human wants. Men need food to eat, clothes to wear, 
houses to live in, and the means of travel. Their minds 
must be trained and their bodies kept strong and healthy. 
Fully as important as these and other needs that might be 
named are the moral and spiritual needs of mankind. The 
degree of civilization of a nation is evidenced not so much 
by the quality of food, clothes, and houses, or by its methods 
of transportation, as essential as these are, but, rather, by 
the moral and religious foundations upon which all these 
rest. 

Picture, if you will, a community in which justice is not 
assured, where there is no truth, no honesty, no faith in 
others, no honor, no purity ; and immediately these are seen 
to be the primary needs of the people. The superstructure 
of civilization is built upon these fundamental virtues. 
Without them the whole structure of modern society col- 
lapses. Thus needs are the openings through which you 
enter into useful living. 

How can you apply in a practical way this principle of 
needs ? 

Three questions should be asked and answered: First, 
what are the needs to which you mil give yourself ? If you 



THE CHOICE OP A LIFEWOEK 17 

want to help feed the world you may possibly be a farmer. 
If you want to diminish the sickness and suffering of man- 
kind you probably will study medicine and surgery. If you 
desire to contribute more directly to the building of the 
foundations of a happy, prosperous, and righteous world 
you may choose some full-time Christian-service calling. 

Physical needs are proclaimed from the housetops; but 
the mental, moral, and spiritual needs, which are the real 
cause of most of our social disorders, are not widely recog- 
nized. It is poor judgment to spend so much time on sur- 
face needs that their fundamental causes are not remedied. 
One soon loses confidence in a doctor who, because of his 
ineflBciency, treats symptoms rather than causes; and, 
likewise, only those workers are permanently successful 
who seek to remove the source of our social infection. It is 
important that some people give themselves to soothing the 
open sores of society, but others are needed to change the 
spirit and attitude of men, that the open sores may be 
permanently healed. 

Secondly, where are the needs that you personally will 
try to satisfy? One must decide not only what needs he 
is going to try to meet but also the place in which he will 
labor. There are recompenses to one who farms in Ohio or 
Iowa, and different opportunities to one who will pioneer 
in Arizona or New Mexico. Fitting into the schools of the 
United States is unlike the task of the building a system 
of education in the backward provinces in China. Prac- 
ticing medicine in some exclusive residential district is 
entirely different from working among the poor of the 
slums or in the great cities of the Orient. Preaching in a 
residential community differs from a pastorate in the down- 
town city church, and both differ from the work in a for- 
eign country. The needs of the various fields make their 
respective appeals, and one must choose from among them. 

Thirdly, how will you attempt to meet the needs? The 
value of one^s work also depends on the way in which the 
needs are met. It is one thing to make clothes and another 
to make well-tailored clothes. It is one thing to make ill 
persons well, but it is much better to keep people from get- 
ting sick. To settle disputes between individuals is in- 
significant in comparison with the development of a system 



18 BUILDEES OF THE KINGDOM 

of justice that will solve industrial problems and stop in- 
ternational conflicts. The effectiveness and permanence of 
any work are conditioned by the vision of the workers. 

The discussion of the principle of needs may be thus 
summarized: (1) What need will you strive to meet? (2) 
Where will you meet it? (3) How will you meet it? 
Other things being equal these questions should be answered 
in a general way, thus: (1) I shall strive to meet the 
greatest need. (2) I shall meet it in the place where it is 
most aggravated. (3) I shall meet it in the most con- 
structive and permanent way possible. 

2. How is the principle of needs limited in its applica- 
tion? You cannot put a round peg in a square hole and 
have it fit. We must face the fact that some people are 
not by nature equipped for certain tasks and can never be 
made over acceptably. The principle of adaptability must 
always be considered as a limitation to the application of 
the principle of needs. What does this involve ? 

(a) Interest, — No one will ever make a success at any- 
thing in which he is not fundamentally interested. In- 
difference is a handicap that cannot be overcome in any line 
of work except as it is completely eliminated. Interest 
alone staves off fatigue and gives one ability for prolonged 
concentration. It is also the basis of an enthusiasm with- 
out which efficiency is impossible. 

(6) Native ability. — Everyone is equipped with apti- 
tudes and powers that give him a bent toward certain call- 
ings. A little self-analysis will show one what these natural 
tendencies are, which must be considered in any lifework 
decision. A young man of studious inclinations might find 
executive work a bore, and the natural-born executive 
would shun a research investigation. Some are equipped 
for aggressive leadership, while others are adapted more 
for teaching or writing. Nature has endowed some with 
great physical power and nerve force for the strenuous 
work of the world, while others, of frail bodies, can play 
their part in the quieter walks of life. Thus your native 
abilities become important guides in the selection of your 
lifework. 

(c) Personality. — Each individual has a distinct person- 
ality. It is made up of disposition, moods, attitudes, ap- 



THE CHOICE OP A LIFEWORK 19 

pearance, character. These fit and unfit young men and 
young women for many places in life. The capacity for 
doing teamwork with those whose points of view are differ- 
ent and for working harmoniously with all associates is 
essential in many vocations. Some callings demand a cer- 
tain type of personality, without which mediocre success 
only is possible. Politicians, preachers, and Young Men^s 
Christian Association leaders must have striking personali- 
ties, compelling the attention and confidence of their con- 
stituencies. Your qualifications for this place or that are 
in no small way determined by your personality. 

3. What is the final requisite for any vocation? The 
principle of training operates as a last test for many im- 
portant vocations. One is eligible only for those vocations 
for which he has had thorough training. The young man 
or woman must secure the necessary training for any work 
he or she proposes to take up. Doctors, dentists, and 
lawyers must pass their respective examinations. The 
standard for Christian workers is high, and it is still being 
raised. Christ demands the finest education, for his work 
is so important that it must not be bungled through lack 
of adequately prepared leaders. Your choice of a lifework 
is in no small way determined, therefore, by the education 
you have or can secure. 

In the light of these three principles one should work 
toward a final decision concerning one's work, seeking 
earnestly the conviction that one is following the will of 
God. 

4. How are you to know what God would have you do ? 
It is not an easy thing to declare this or that to be the will 
of God. Many good men have been mistaken. Paul, you 
remember, thought that he was doing the will of God when 
he was persecuting the Christians, and he was perfectly 
sincere. The writer of 1 John presents this danger at the 
beginning of the fourth chapter : ^^Believe not every spirit, 
but prove the spirits, whether they are of God.'' 

Mankind to-day knows the will of God more thoroughly 
and hears the voice of God more plainly than in any pre- 
vious period of history. Science has largely banished 
superstition; philosophy has taught us to think more 
clearly; and through the social and spiritual experience of 



20 BUILDERS OF THE KINGDOM 

the race the purpose and will of God have become more 
clearly defined and understood, even as Jesus promised. It 
is not in terms of voices, visions, or dreams, but in and 
through all life that God has made himself known to the 
world. Jesus is the revelation of God, and to-day we can 
know him better than did even his disciples who walked 
with him in Galilee. By understanding the purpose of 
Jesus more clearly we can assert more positively his will 
for our lives, and the principles heretofore set forth are 
our best conception of God^s selective principles in direct- 
ing the vocational decisions of his followers. God expresses 
his will to us in and through those principles. Inner feel- 
ings are always to be tested by outside facts and conditions ; 
and when external data and internal feelings agree, it 
seems an unmistakable lead. 

5. How can prayer help in the selection of a lifework? 
To make a life decision without prayer would be as incon- 
sistent as for a mariner to seek to direct his ship without 
boxing his compass. Private prayer cultivates sincerity, 
for face to face with the heavenly Father any cloak of 
hypocrisy falls to the ground. The attitude of resignation 
which is generated makes one willing to hear the voice of 
God and anxious to do his will as it may be made manifest. 
The daily practice of consecration in prayer guarantees 
convictions that will stand the test of criticism and the dis- 
couragement of hardships. Prayer unifies a life and en- 
ables one to say with Paul, "But one thing I do.^^ The 
prayerless life is weak and uncertain, while the habit of 
prayer gives strength and absolute conviction. 

6. What should faith do for us? One should always 
look forward with confidence and faith to the future. As 
discouragements come, as they inevitably will, one may see 
in them only lessons for later victories. Lincoln would not 
bow to defeat. He had to sell his surveying instruments to 
pay his debts ; his store failed ; he entered the Black Hawk 
War a captain and came out a private ; he was defeated for 
the State Legislature ; he lost in a Congressional election ; 
but with a courage that capitalized all failures for future 
successes he finally attained high honor. 

We should strive to find that work for which we are 
adapted and then give ourselves to it with all possible 



THE CHOICE OP A LIPEWOEK 21 

energy and abandon. There will be periods when it seems 
that all our work availeth little, but we can live through 
such times of depression on the vision of our brighter days. 
To some there are opportunities to do bigger things, to at- 
tain a worthier fame through more conspicuous service ; but 
the real bulk of the Kingdom program is carried on by 
those of ordinary abilities. It is through the mass of com- 
monplace workers that the kingdom of God will be estab- 
lished on the earth. 

A commonplace life, we say, and we sigh; 

But why should we sigh as we say? 
The commonplace sun in the commonplace sky 

Makes up the commonplace day. 
The moon and the stars are commonplace things. 
And the flower that blooms and the bird that sings. 
But dark were the world, and sad our lot 
If the flowers failed, and the sun shone not. 
And God, who studies each separate soul, 
Out of commonplace lives makes his beautiful whole. 

All the needs of mankind must be met, and face to face 
with the facts you must determine your career. There 
should be no hasty decision, no ill-considered resolves. 
One^s lifework should be settled with a full knowledge of 
all the elements involved. God does not draft or press 
anyone into full time service for him but he does expect 
of each a worth-while life, which includes at least part-time 
service in his kingdom. The foUovnng studies will set 
forth the needs and opportunities in the light of which in- 
telligent life decisions may be made. 

Questions for Thought and Discussion 

1. Why is it necessary to form a life purpose early in 
one^s educational course? 

3. What have needs to do with one's vocational decision ? 

3. What are the most fundamental needs in the world? 
Why? 

4. What place should interest have in the selection of a 
lifework ? 

5. Are we to follow th^ vocation that we like best? 
Why? 

6. How can we know God's will for our lives ? 



CHAPTER III 

THE LEADERSHIP OF THE PREACHER 

Matt. 9. 9. 

9 And as Jesus passed by from thence, he saw a man, called 
Matthew, sitting at the place of toll: and he saith unto him, 
Follow me. And he arose, and followed him. 
Matt. 28. 16-20. 

16 But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, unto the 
mountain where Jesus had appointed them. 17 And when 
they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. 18 
And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying. All au- 
thority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. 
19 Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, bap- 
tizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and 
of the Holy Spirit: 20 teaching them to observe all things 
whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, 
even unto the end of the world. 
Mark 1. 16-20. 

16 And passing along by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon 
and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea ; for 
they were fishers. 17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye 
after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. 

18 And straightway they left the nets, and followed him. 

19 And going on a little further, he saw James the son of 
Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat 
mending the nets. 20 And straightway he called them: and 
they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired serv- 
ants, and went after him. 

2 Tim. 1. 6-13. 
6 For which cause I put thee in remembrance that thou stir 
up the gift of God, which is in thee through the laying on of 
my hands. 7 For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but 
of power and love and discipline. 8 Be not ashamed therefore 
of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but 
suffer hardship with the gospel according to the power of God ; 
9 who saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not accord- 
ing to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, 
which was given us in Christ Jesus before times eternal, 10 
but hath now been manifested by the appearing of our Saviour 
Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and im- 
mortality to light through the gospel, 11 whereunto I was ap- 
pointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher. 12 For 
which cause I suffer also these things: yet I am not ashamed; 
for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded 

22 



THE LEADEESHIP OF THE PEEACHER 23 

that he is able to guard that which I have committed unto 
him against that day. 13 Hold the pattern of sound words 
which thou hast heard from me, in faith and love which is in 
Christ Jesus. 

Methodism was founded upon the leadership of a great 
preacher. The history of the eighteenth century in Eng- 
land could not be written without giving to John Wesley 
a very prominent place. He found the church decadent, 
society depraved^ and men and women lacking in ordinary 
decencies. He witnessed on all sides public corruption, 
profaneness, and blasphemy. Standing out against the 
tendencies of his time with a heart as pure as gold and a 
mind aflame with spiritual insight and passion, John 
Wesley gave to England a new birth. Combining as he did 
the order and dignity of the Anglican Church with the 
personal religious earnestness of Puritanism, he was well 
qualified for the leadership into which he stepped. He 
cleansed the springs of human life, he purified the foun- 
tains of social relationships, he rebuilt the altars of per- 
sonal religion. The English Church was raised from 
its lethargy to spiritual power, and the great Methodist 
Church started on its march of world-wide usefulness and 
triumphant service. 

To assert the divine right of leadership for the Methodist 
preacher is but to show how the mantle of Wesley has fallen 
on those who own him as their spiritual father. By his own 
life he has set before his followers a great ideal of leadership 
in the task of winning mankind to Christ and of estab- 
lishing the kingdom of God on the earth. 

1. What is the range of the preacher's interest? No 
calling opens to a young man the breadth of interest that 
is present in the life of a preacher. He must touch every 
phase of human life and endeavor. He must know the 
struggles of men, their problems and discouragements, 
their victories and joys. He should find out what people are 
thinking about as this is expressed partly in contemporary 
writing. He should have the background of history, litera- 
ture, and philosophy as the basis of understanding modern 
tendencies. He should be so familiar with the teachings of 
Christ that he can interpret to the world the will of God. 
He ought to know the mind of Christ so as to approach the 



24 BUILDEES OP THE KINGDOM 

problems of this day with the same authority Amos had 
when he proclaimed, "Thus saith Jehovah/^ 

The preacher does not pose as an industrial expert, but 
he can proclaim the principles of God upon which a just 
and righteous industrial order can be built. He is not a 
trained scientist, but he can insist that it is the power of 
God that creates and sustains the world, and that the dis- 
coveries of science are but the unfolding of the mind of 
God. He may not know all the economic theories of this 
day, but he can tell the world that God has provided bounti- 
fully for his children, and that any doctrine of rights 
which permits a few to withhold from the many their divine 
heritage is a system that is condemned by God and must 
be changed before the kingdom of righteousness can be 
established. He may not be versed in all the technicalities 
of international law and diplomacy, but he can point out 
that brotherliness is the only basis upon which a peaceful 
world can be built. He may not be a great philosopher, but 
he can set forth the fundamental values of life in terms of 
Jesus^ teaching and hold his own against all materialistic 
and agnostic theories that rob life of its meaning and man- 
kind of its hope. 

2. In what does the leadership of the preacher consist? 
(a) Leadership in thought, — Ideas are the sources of 
action. As a man thinketh, ... so is he. The 
opportunity of the preacher lies in helping people to think 
straight, so that they can act right. His leadership, there- 
fore, depends in part on his ability to give a constructive 
and uplifting view of religion and life. He has open to him 
the means of instruction, and by public address and through 
print he can give to his people the knowledge that alone can 
save them and the world. 

(1) Concerning God, — The Bankers' Association of a 
leading Western city asked an Eastern preacher to come 
across the continent to speak to them about God. It was 
no whim that called forth this action, but a real desire to 
have an adequate conception of God. Most people are de- 
pendent entirely on their childish impressions, for little 
attention has been given this fundamental belief. Few 
church members can tell you why they believe in God, and 
fewer still can explain the kind of a God that they believe 



THE LEADEESHIP OP THE PEEACHEE 35 

in. As our whole attitude toward life is colored by our 
belief about God, this phase of the preacher^s work is ex- 
tremely important. The concept of God as a Father, whose 
love for his children individually surpasses the finest ex- 
amples of earthly parenthood, is not the outcome of a single 
sermon, but is secured through constant reiteration. God 
with a program and purpose is a conception vital to human 
progress, yet few think of our relation to him in terms of 
cooperation in the establishment of his kingdom. A vivid 
interpretation of a big, loving, aggressive Father-God is 
no small part of the preacher's opportunity. 

(2) The will of God, — The rallying point of Christen- 
dom is the will of God. This should be made plain in order 
that Christians can unite in support of his program. The 
lines must be clearly drawn; the issues should not be 
clouded. God's way ought to be so clear that none may 
mistake it. Only thus can the battle of sin and righteous- 
ness be drawn and fought out to a finish. 

Jesus, as we have seen, summed up the will of God in the 
Kingdom ideal. Industrial and commercial problems, 
domestic affairs and international relations must be settled 
in harmony with the principles of justice, service, and 
brotherhood. Selfishness and greed are the marks of oppo- 
sition. Intolerance of new ideas is hostility toward the 
growth and development of God's purposes for mankind, 
since progress can come only through change. As the 
preacher interprets the meaning, purpose, and standards 
of the Kingdom concretely and definitely he can help the 
people pass judgment on old customs and institutions and 
on new plans and ideas. So often selfish and partisan 
propaganda strangles new ideas before they have had a fair 
pubKc hearing. That preachers have a chance to give every 
idea with a noble purpose a fair presentation offers an 
opportunity of real intellectual leadership. 

(3) Intellectual interests. — The preacher can color the 
whole intellectual life of his people. The books to which 
he refers in his sermons will be read by many in his con- 
gregation. His interpretation of current events will shape 
their attitudes on public questions. His conception of life 
can be so imparted that his ideals and standards will 
become theirs. The preacher can keep his people in touch 



26 BUILDEES OF THE KINGDOM 

with the best literature that is coining from the press so 
that they will be awake to present-day problems. He can 
cultivate the broadest sympathies, an aggressive social 
spirit, and a desire for the practical realization of the 
kingdom of God on earth. What a chance this is for laying 
the foundations of a better world ! 

(&) Leadership in denunciation. — The leadership of the 
preacher expresses itself in change and progress. He can 
apply the standards of the Kingdom to business, social cus- 
toms, politics, and international relations with mental 
ability and manly courage. The preachers are the prophets 
of the day, real spokesmen for God, who arraign the evils 
of the modern world with keen analysis and fearless de- 
nunciation (Matt. 23. 13-33). 

John Spargo as a young preacher was called upon to 
conduct the funeral services of a girl who died in question- 
able surroundings. While on this sad mission he discovered 
that an oflBcial of his church owned the house in which the 
girl had lived and collected double rent because of its char- 
acter. He came back filled with righteous indignation. As 
it was Sunday morning, he went into the pulpit in the same 
mood; and when the time for the sermon arrived, he un- 
burdened his heart. He told of his experience that morn- 
ing and then calmly pointed to the guilty official member 
before him and in frank, straightforward words expressed 
his contempt for him and his business methods. The organ 
in the church had been the generous gift of this same official 
member, but Spargo said that its music was an abomination 
unto God because it had been purchased with blood money. 
Instead of continuing to use the privilege of condemnation 
that his profession afforded Spargo left the church to work 
along other lines, but this he later regretted, for recently 
he said that if he had it to do over again he would not 
leave the ministry. The years that have passed since then 
have taught him the supreme moral leadership that preach- 
ing offers. 

The church is calling for men to fill its pulpits who with 
clear insight see the Kingdom program and who will attack 
fearlessly the conditions that prevent the realization of 
Jesus^ ideal for the world. 

(c) Leadership in Kingdom building. — The preacher is 



THE LEADERSHIP OF THE PREACHER 27 

in a special sense in the apostolic succession. In a special 
way the leadership of the Kingdom forces is in his hands. 
The direction of the campaign for righteousness is com- 
mitted to him. He must inspire the people to fall in line 
with the Kingdom program. Business men should be led 
to study their businesses with the purpose of harmonizing 
them with the principles of Jesus Christ. Professional 
men ought to forget themselves in their desire for the ideal 
order. All should be inspired to practice the spirit of 
brotherhood and to put service before rewards. 

A preacher in a Southern town demonstrated real leader- 
ship recently. He went to the largest hotel in the city and 
bought several bottles of whisky. On the following Sunday 
he took them to church and made them the basis of the ser- 
mon. As he displayed his purchases he did not say that 
prohibition had failed to prohibit, he did not condemn the 
inefficiency of the governmental enforcement machine, nor 
did he put the blame on the local police. To his own con- 
gregation he said: ^^You are to blame for this condition. 
If you do not want the youth of this city to be corrupted by 
strong drink you can make it safe for them. Your indiffer- 
ence is the cause of this open violation of the law, and the 
blood of the fallen will be partly on your heads.^' The 
people needed no further stimulus to organize the good 
forces of the city to stamp out the lawlessness, and within 
one week the town was closed up tight. 

It is not enough to preach vague theories ; the great op- 
portunities of the preacher lie in the practical leadership 
that he gives to Kingdom work. As he leads in the purify- 
ing of the life of his city, as he helps to make it easier to do 
right than to do wrong, as he changes the attitudes and 
spirits of people in accordance with the standards of Christ, 
he fulfills the great end to which he has been called. 

2. Is there a need for preachers to-day? Not only is 
there a great opportunity in the ministry of the church, but 
there is also a great need for well-trained men. Fully two 
thirds of the ministers of Methodism to-day are without a 
college education. The seminaries are graduating only one 
sixth of the recruits that are needed to fill the annual 
demands of the Conferences. The pulpits must be filled by 
efficient leaders, if Jesus Christ is to be known and his 



28 BUILDEKS OF THE KINGDOM 

kingdom established. The progress of the world, the safety 
of mankind, is dependent on the practice of the idealism of 
Christianity. How could one make a larger contribution to 
the world than by teaching the standards of Jesus and 
training people in Christian life and work? Where could 
great gifts be more constructively employed than in 
preaching ? 

This lack of leadership, especially well-trained leader- 
ship, has arisen largely from two causes : First, there is a 
lack of vision with respect to the tash of the church. The 
program of Kingdom building is too often swallowed up in 
a mass of petty details and church squabbles. Young 
people often do not see beyond these unfortunate circum- 
stances the all-important responsibility of Christianity and, 
consequently, are not challenged by the work of the min- 
istry. Secondly, the remuneration is in some places too 
small for comfort. While sacrifice makes its appeal to the 
red-blooded youths of our day, many young men are unwill- 
ing to face the possibility of a dwarfed life through the lack 
of books, magazines, and travel, which are so essential to 
the development of efficiency in the ministry. But both of 
these deterrents are being rapidly overcome. The vision of 
the Kingdom is more and more gripping the minds of the 
church, and the larger salaries that are everywhere evident 
are aiding in making the work of the preacher more at- 
tractive. 

3. What training is necessary? A college training 
should be the minimum requirement of every preacher, and 
the time will come when that will be demanded of a candi- 
date for ordination. A man with less training cannot meet 
all the requirements for leadership. A seminary course 
should be the ideal of everyone who plans to be a preacher, 
for only with this will he be equal in equipment to the 
lawyers and doctors who sit in his pews. They are special- 
ists in their line, and no one can be a specialist in religion 
without a seminary degree or its equivalent. 

4. A question. "When one looks out,^^ says Dr. Charles 
E. Jefferson, "across the North American continent, 
thickly dotted with large and growing cities; sees the 
streams of humanity pouring through the streets; notes 
how the multitude to-day, as of old, is scattered abroad 



THE LEADEESHIP OF THE PEEACHEE 29 

like sheep which have no shepherd ; and when one meditates 
upon the confusion of men's minds, the agitation of men's 
hearts, and the strenuous, down-pulling forces of modern 
society; and when he beholds the crying need for clear- 
eyed, high-minded, stout-hearted prophets of the Lord who 
are able to interpret to the multitudes the signs of the 
times and to apply the principles of the gospel of the Son 
.of God to the tangled problems and complicated life which 
modern civilization has created, he cannot help wondering 
why a larger number of the brainiest and most virile of our 
college men do not see the unparalleled greatness of the 
opportunity and hasten to enter fields which offer ample 
scope for the exercise of every talent, for the gratification 
of every ambition, for the profitable expenditure of every 
ounce of energy with which the great and generous God has 
endowed the highly favored of his children/' 

Questions poe Thought and Discussion 

1. In what does the leadership of the preacher consist? 
Why do some preachers fail to become real leaders ? 
3. What is the range of the preacher's interests ? 

3. What is the primary task committed to him ? 

4. What makes the ministry so attractive as a vocation ? 

5. What training is necessary to make a good preacher ? 



CHAPTER IV 
THE EEACH OP THE MINISTEY 

Isa. 40. 1-8; 28-31. 

1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem; and cry unto her, that 
her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, 
that she hath received of Jehovah's hand double for all her 
sins. 

3 The voice of one that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness 
the way of Jehovah; make level in the desert a highway for 
our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain 
and hill shall be made low; and the uneven shall be made 
level, and the rough places a plain: 5 and the glory of Jehovah 
shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the 
mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it. 

6 The voice of one saying. Cry. And one said, What shall 
I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as 
the flower of the field. 7 The grass withereth, the flower 
fadeth, because the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it; surely 
the people is grass. 8. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; 
but the word of our God shall stand forever. 

28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard? The ever- 
lasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, 
fainteth not, neither is weary; there is no searching of his 
understanding. 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to him 
that hath no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the 
youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall 
utterly fall: 31 but they that wait for Jehovah shall renew 
their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; 
they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not 
faint. 

John 10. 1-5. 

1 Verily, verily, I say unto you. He that entereth not by 
the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbeth up some other 
way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he that entereth 
in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the 
porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth 
his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4 When he 
hatk put forth all his own, he goeth before them, and the 
sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5 And a stranger 
will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know 
not the voice of strangers. 

30 



THE BEACH OF THE MINISTRY 31 

2 Tim. 2. 15. 
Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a 
workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the 
word of truth. 

The man in charge of a church has many other duties 
and responsibilities besides preaching. He is a head of a 
great organization, with many processes operating to secure 
a variety of results. He acts as an efficiency engineer, 
eliminating duplication and waste in the various opera- 
tions, and attempting to attain the maximum production. 
His success lies in the utilization of all the resources of the 
church to achieve the end for which the church exists. 

1, What are the minister's opportunities? (a) Pas- 
toral, — This has to do with the personal relations of the 
minister to his people. With encouraging words for the 
disheartened, with comfort for the sorrowing, with wise 
counsel for those in trouble, the minister can move among 
his congregation as a tower of strength. There are funerals 
to conduct, marriages to perform, and baptisms to admin- 
ister ; and each may be conducted "with dignity, grace, and 
real personal interest. Strangers are to be welcomed, the 
sick visited, the old and infirm cheered. All who long for 
spiritual guidance have a right to expect his thoughtful, 
prayerful, personal interest. A shepherd knoweth his sheep 
by name, and the real minister calleth his church families 
by their names. His usefulness is enlarged by his personal 
relations with his people. 

Dr. Broadhurst, in one of his books, tells the following 
story: The Eev. J. J. DoUiver, the father of former 
Senator DoUiver, was riding horseback one Sunday after- 
noon when he overtook a tall, awkward-looking boy carry- 
ing a string of fish. The preacher did not scold him for 
fishing on Sunday, but talked to him kindly and asked him 
what he was going to make of himself when he became a 
man. He gained the boy^s confidence and finally led him 
into the ministry of the church. This boy was none other 
than T. B. Hughes, who later became the preacher-father 
of two of Methodism^s illustrious bishops. That was high- 
grade pastoral work. 

(6) Educational. — The minister should think of the 
work of the church largely in terms of an educational 



32 BUILDEES OF THE KINGDOM 

process. Preaching should be educational. The social pro- 
gram, community service, and all other features of church 
work should be permeated by the educational ideal. Most 
churches cannot afford a director of religious education, so 
the average minister must assume the responsibilities out- 
lined in Chapter V. He is the supervisor of the Sunday 
school, the director of the educational programs of the 
young people^s societies, the promoter of week-day religious 
education. As he correlates the various features of the 
educational program and sees that there is no duplication 
of effort, the best results will be secured. 

Preparatory classes for church membership provide a 
special opportunity to the minister. The church has grown 
lax in its requirements for reception into full membership, 
and as a consequence few Methodists really know the funda- 
mentals of Christian thought and life. The minister ought 
to have this contact with all candidates for admission into 
his church, so that he may give to them through it an ade- 
quate intellectual understanding of Christianity and its 
personal and social aims. Thus will he bring new members 
into the church filled with a passion for Christ and his 
kingdom. 

(c) Social and recreational. — The social and recrea- 
tional program of the church affords the minister a fine 
opportunity for effective service. The church that will- 
ingly turns over to other institutions this phase of its pro- 
gram is throwing away an important part of its birthright. 
The most effective point of contact with many young people 
is in recreational activities, and the cement that binds con- 
gregations most securely is that which is mixed at social 
gatherings. Decadent will be the church that lacks a thor- 
oughgoing social and recreational program. 

The first step in determining such a program is a survey 
of conditions in the community in which the church is 
located. Such questions as these should be answered: 
Approximately how many hoys, girls, young men, and 
young women live in the district to which the church min- 
isters ? What are the present social and recreational facili- 
ties of the people ? Are these good or had? How many go 
to Sunday school? What is the juvenile-court record for 
this community? etc. With this survey before him the 



THE BEACH OP THE MINISTEY 33 

pastor should build his program to meet the recognized 
needs of the community. 

(d) Community service. — ^In some places the church 
should assume responsibilities for community service. 
There are sick to be cared for, poor to be fed and housed, 
children to be clothed, men to be employed, and a hundred 
other varieties of service that the church can foster. If 
there is a charity organization society, many of these re- 
sponsibilities may be turned over to it, but not all. Quite 
often the church must build an entire community service 
program, with a nurse and visitors as a part of the church 
staff, with an employment oiBce, and with a lawyers^ com- 
mittee to secure justice for the poor. The pastor must see 
that the needs of his community are met; and if others are 
not doing what they might, he must do all he can. 

But no church dares content itself with a mere program 
of alleviation ; it must strive for prevention. What are the 
causes of sicJcness? They must be removed. Why is there 
poverty and a need of life's necessities? The conditions 
must be changed. What is the reason for unemployment? 
The industrial system must eliminate that hazard. The 
church shares responsibility for the sin and wretchedness 
of the world except as it seeks to correct their basis causes. 

(e) Extension. — The minister is called upon for a 
variety of extension work. There are addresses before clubs 
and other organizations to be made, special lectures to be 
given, books and pamphlets to be prepared, church societies 
and institutions to be promoted ; and the minister of ability 
and vision has a share in these responsibilities. Every 
great cause requires agitators who will give of their time 
and energy to propaganda work, and no fundamental re- 
form or humanitarian cause should be without a large 
ministerial leadership. 

In a local community the interests of the minister extend 
beyond the line of his church membership. The building 
of the Kingdom is a task as broad as human relationships, 
and no small- visioned minister can fulfill the large respon- 
sibility of righteous leadership in the community. 

(/) Missionary. — The Methodist Church goes back to 
John Wesley for one of its great slogans : ^^The world is my 
parish.^' Every minister who is ordained in Methodism is 



34 BUILDERS OF THE KINGDOM 

heir to that high idealism. The man in a small town has a 
bigger parish than his community outline map indicates. 
Every church ought to have posted in it the map of the 
world, the preacher ought to preach in world terms, the 
congregation ought to think in world conceptions, and the 
people ought to give for a world program. The very life 
of Christianity is dependent upon its world influence, for 
that which is provincial will ultimately die and be for- 
gotten. The missionary phase of the minister's program is 
not fulfilled in the occasional missionary sermon : the mis- 
sionary spirit should pervade all sermons. The separate- 
ness of home and foreign work should be forgotten in the 
interest of a united campaign of Jesus Christ for the salva- 
tion and redemption of the world and the establishment of 
his kingdom. The effective minister fits himself into such 
a program. 

(g) Financial. — Someone has said that if a business 
concern were run on the same financial policy as a church it 
would be bankrupt in six months. The business affairs of 
the Kingdom, locally as well as in a central organization, 
must be put on a sound, efficient basis. Lloyd C. Douglas 
condemns financial pettiness in the following pertinent in- 
cident from Wanted — a Congregation: "Upon entering 
their cozy little living room I noticed a strip of some cheap 
textile lying across the table. It appeared to be a sort of 
cross between an umbrella cover and a highly magnified 
bookmark. I said to Mrs. Cranston, ^Clara, what is this 
thing?' She took it up, handed it to me, and replied, ^Oh, 
that? Why, it's for our church, you know! The women 
of the church are expected to raise a thousand dollars this 
year, and we are all divided up into groups to earn the 
money any way we can get it. Our chairman saw an adver- 
tisement of this scheme. It's called "A Yard of Mckels !" 
See?' She fumbled with the heavy end of the ridiculous 
thing, counting, ^I have four — six — ^nine — eleven nickels 
already! Isn't that fine? You see,' she explained play- 
fully, T leave it right here on my table; and whenever 
anyone asks me what it is, — and of course everyone does — I 
tell them all about it just as I am telling you. Then there 
is nothing for the guest to do but deposit a nickel ! Don't 
you think it is a charming idea ?' I dug down and brought 



THE REACH OP THE MINISTRY 35 

up some small change. I tried to smile over it and play 
up to the little farce which Clara seemed bent on making 
of the event. I happened to have two nickels. I thrust 
them into the gaping end of the tape ; and then my disgust 
got the better of me, and I said : ^Clara, I do hereby make 
this modest tender of two nickels to your church; and if 
it is true that this goes to support the cause of the Master, 
I also hereby beg his pardon for being party to the insult. 
But, Clara, I am so firm in the belief that he would have 
neither part nor lot with an institution that attempted to 
propagate his principles by any such tactics as this that I 
think we are entirely safe. But really, it must make him 
very sorry — panhandling nickels from the neighbors to 
honor him !^ ^^ 

It is the duty of the minister to set the proper financial 
policy before his people. He has the opportunity of prov- 
ing to them that the Kingdom demands and deserves at 
least one tenth of their income and of dignifying the church 
by its expectation of adequate support without begging and 
without a penny-wise-and-pound-foolish program. The 
financial task of the minister, therefore, is both funda- 
mental and big, but should not demand very much of his 
time. 

2. What are the qualifications of the pastor? Under 
the seven foregoing heads is set forth the wide reach of 
the minister's program which are avenues of great useful- 
ness. Through each and everyone the kingdom of God is 
being built, and the man who is a minister realizes his 
greatest power as he gives himself to this broad program. 
The man who takes up the work of a minister should be an 
executive, with ability to organize his church for its task 
and with promotive force enough to carry through its pro- 
gram. As the director of an orchestra distributes parts of 
a great symphony among the players and secures harmony 
through expert leadership, so the successful preacher has 
the gift of distributing responsibility among the members 
of his congregation in such a way that everyone is happy 
and effective in doing some specific piece of work for which 
he or she is well fitted. To one with a love for people and 
with sympathy and tact in his leadership the ministry 
opens up a great field of usefulness and power. 



36 BUILDERS OF THE KINGDOM 

Questions fob Thought and Discussion 

1. What ought the minister to know about his com- 
munity ? 

2. What determines the program of the minister ? 

3. What are the essential features of an adequate pro- 
gram? 

4. Which part of the minister's program is most impor- 
tant? Why? 

5. What type of man makes a good minister ? 



CHAPTER V 

THE NEED FOE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 

Prov. 3. 1-12. 

1 My son, forget not my law; 

But let thy heart keep my commandments: 

2 For length of days, and years of life. 
And peace, will they add to thee. 

3 Let not kindness and truth forsake thee: 
Bind them about thy neck; 

Write them upon the tablet of thy heart: 

4 So Shalt thou find favor and good understanding 
In the sight of God and man. 

5 Trust in Jehovah with all thy heart, 

And lean not upon thine own understanding: 

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him. 
And he will direct thy paths. 

7 Be not wise in thine own eyes; 
Pear Jehovah, and depart from evil: 

8 It will be health to thy navel, 
And marrow to thy bones. 

9 Honor Jehovah with thy substance. 

And with the first-fruits of all thine increase: 

10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty. 
And thy vats shall overflow with new wine. 

11 My son, despise not the chastening of Jehovah; 
Neither be weary of his reproof: 

12 For whom Jehovah loveth he reproveth. 

Even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. 
Matt. 18. 2-6. 

2 And he called to him a little child, and set him in the 
midst of them, 3 and said. Verily I say unto you, Except ye 
turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter 
into the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whosoever therefore shall 
humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in 
the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoso shall receive one such 
little child in my name receiveth me: 6 but whoso shall cause 
one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it is 
profitable for him that a great millstone should be hanged 
about his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depth of the 
sea 

' Eph. 3. 14-20. 

14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father, 15 from 
whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that 
he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that 
ye may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the 

37 



38 BUILDEES OF THE KINGDOM 

inward man; 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through 
faith; to the end that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 
18 may be strong to apprehend with all the saints what is 
the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know 
the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye may be 
filled unto all the fulness of God. 

20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly 
above all that we ask or think, according to the power that 
worketh in us, 21 unto him &e the glory in the church and 
in Christ Jesus unto all generations for ever and ever. Amen. 

When the United States of America accepted a demo- 
cratic form of government, far-seeing leaders began at once 
to urge an adequate system of public education. They 
realized that the stability of the government and the moral 
welfare of its citizenship depended on the intelligence of 
the people, and that the nation as a whole could progress 
only as the mass of people were educated. Whatever of 
greatness we have achieved as a nation is due in a large way 
to our public-school system. 

The kingdom of God, as a thoroughgoing democracy, 
rests its strength and power in the education and coopera- 
tion of its citizens. Training for this responsibility is no 
less essential than for civil duties. The churches provision 
for religious education indicates the reach of its vision and 
the earnestness of its purpose. 

1. What is the aim of religious education ? The purpose 
of religious education is evangelization — ^the making of 
boys and girls, men and women, truly Christian. If we 
define a Christian as one who knows the ideals and stand- 
ards of Christ and strives to live up to them in his daily 
life and who is familiar with the purpose of Jesus and seeks 
to cooperate with him in its realization, then the task of 
religious education is definite. It must give knowledge and 
inspiration. 

Eeligions education assumes that there is a body of in- 
formation to be learned before one can be a full Christian. 
Popular conceptions of Christian standards are often 
wholly inadequate. To have a religious experience and Join 
the church is one thing, but to know the idealism of Jesus 
and its implications in the modern, complex, social life of 
to-day is quite another. Many church members are more 
familiar with the Jewish law than with the principles of 



NEED FOR RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 39 

righteousness which Jesus taught. If one were to ask the 
ordinary business man what the teachings of Jesus imply 
as to the conduct of an industrial concern, he would prob- 
ably answer you in terms of individual honesty rather than 
in terms of brotherhood, love, and service. To very few 
persons has ^^the kingdom of God^^ any concrete meaning. 
Yet this is the great aim of Christianity, and one cannot 
cooperate with Jesus unless he knows the nature, purpose, 
program, and spirit of the Kingdom. Religious education 
is the great movement that seeks to give people this neces- 
sary knowledge. 

However, one may know the ideals and standards of 
Christianity yet not be a Christian. The final test is 
always in the doing. ^^By their fruits ye shall know them.^^ 
Some church members do not try to live up to the ideals 
of Jesus, but frankly state that they are impracticable and 
unrealizable. These are the arch heretics of Christianity 
and its most deadly enemies. The real Christians are those 
who believe in the practical and victorious leadership of 
Jesus Christ on the basis of his program that is set forth 
in the New Testament. The business of religious educa- 
tion is to convince people of the necessity of appljdng Chris- 
tianity to the problems of society and of its sufficiency for 
the salvation of the world. It must generate a real passion 
for Christian living and a great earnestness for the work of 
the Kingdom. It must direct in the formation of those 
habits which are essential to highest usefulness in the 
Master^s program. 

Inspiration is no less a part of the program of religious 
education than is information. The two go hand in hand, 
and with the ever-increasing emphasis that the church is 
placing on this phase of its program we can expect greater 
results in the progress of Kingdom building. 

2. What is the program of religious education? The 
program of religious education is as broad as religion itself. 
It may be summed up largely under four heads : 

(a) The principal organization for religious education 
is the Sunday school. Its effectiveness is dependent on 
proper grading, well-trained teachers, good lesson material, 
modern methods, and an adequate provision for outside 
activities. 



40 BUILDEES OF THE KINGDOM 

(6) Other church organizations help in the religious 
education of the youth, such as the Epworth, Intermediate, 
and Junior Leagues, missionary societies. Boy Scouts, 
Knights of Saint Paul, Camp Fire Girls, and other similar 
agencies. Only as these are tied up to and correlated with 
the Sunday school will they be of the largest use in the 
process of Christian training. 

(c) We must also realize that one hour on Sunday or 
even two are not enough for the accomplishment of 
Christian training. Week-day religious instruction is abso- 
lutely essential if we are to speed the realization of the 
kingdom of God on earth. This work, which is now being 
successfully carried on in many centers, should ultimately 
become a part of the church work in every community. 

(d) Since the leadership of our country comes in large 
part from the colleges and universities of our land, the 
church must provide in all centers of higher learning a 
church program and curriculum courses in religion which 
will guarantee a constant supply of highly trained profes- 
sional leaders and a great group of efficient lay workers. 
The church that neglects its college students will pay the 
price in an impoverished leadership. 

When Methodism was founded in America it immedi- 
ately organized a university. Prom that day to this the 
best traditions and ideals of Methodism have been propa- 
gated in its own colleges and universities, which have been 
established throughout the length and breadth of this 
country. Without their influence in the past Methodism 
could never have attained its present height, and through 
them Methodism will progress in the future. Because of 
the great mass of Methodist students at State and inde- 
pendent institutions it has been found necessary also to 
organize Wesley Foundations for the religious care and 
spiritual development of Methodist young people at non- 
Methodist schools. The rapid growth in power and influ- 
ence of these Methodist organizations assures the church of 
greater loyalty and better leadership from its university- 
trained young men and women. 

3. What are openings for leadership in religious educa- 
tion? (a) Directors of religious education in local 
churches. — Methodism is awakening rapidly to the need of 



NEED FOE KELIGIOUS EDUCATION 41 

religious education. From churches all over this country is 
coming the call for men and women who are trained for 
leadership in this field. The old hit-or-miss methods of the 
past stand condemned. Too long have children come to 
hold the Sunday school in disdain, because in comparison 
with their week-day schools its organization, materials, and 
methods were not up to date. There is so much overlapping 
in an ordinary church that one is confused and nettled by 
the varied and usually inelBBcient approaches. Ordinary 
Sunday-school children have little real information con- 
cerning the meaning and growth of Christianity, and their 
attitudes and habits are generally left to chance develop- 
ment. Into this chaos a man or woman is called to bring 
order and system. He must correlate the activities of all 
organizations. He sees to it that an efficient corps of 
teachers is provided, and that the best lesson materials are 
used. He plans for the cultivation of Christian attitudes 
and habits. He works up a program of activities through 
which the pupils can apply the teachings of the school. 

But the director of religious education in a local church 
does not stop even here. He begins week-day religious in- 
struction and provides the means of a better education in 
religion. He organizes a daily vacation church school in 
the summer for children who have nothing to do ; arranges 
for and conducts, if possible, a summer camp, through 
which the church can minister to the physical, social, and 
spiritual well-being of its children. Such a program is a 
challenge to any young man or woman with executive 
ability and red blood. 

(6) Directors of religious education for communities — 
To provide for an adequate week-day school, a group of 
churches often cooperate. Thus the best results can be 
obtained with a minimum expense to each denomination. 
Men are needed to head up such a combined effort and 
direct the religious-educational work of an entire com- 
munity. 

(c) Denominational directors. — The working out of a 
big program of religious education for a city, a district, a 
Conference, or even an area is often put in the hands of a 
general administrator. To fulfill the responsibilities of 
such an office one must know the theory, methods, and 



42 BUILDERS OF THE KINGDOM 

solutions to the problems of religious education and be 
able to direct its development over a large field. 

(d) General church leadership. — Most of the denomina- 
tions, including the Methodist Episcopal Church and the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, have each a Board of 
Sunday Schools, to which is committed the task of direct- 
ing the whole Sunday-school program of the church. It 
determines standards of organization and methods and then 
gives necessary help in lifting the work of the schools up 
to the ideals they advance. It provides tests and applies 
them for the edification of the workers. It collects all data 
with reference to the growth of the Sunday schools and 
gives to the whole movement a centralization that is all- 
important. These churches also have editorial departments 
and publishing houses. Lesson materials for every grade 
are prepared and issued, as well as many special courses. 
Lesson periodicals, teachers^ helps, and story papers for the 
instruction of teachers and the inspiration of pupils are 
edited and published. These important activities require 
exceptionally well-trained men and women. Prepared 
persons must be ready to fill vacancies in these administra- 
tive and editorial positions. 

(e) University pastors. — ^Within the last few years a 
new field of work has opened up. So great are its possibili- 
ties and so important are its results that its development 
has been most rapid. College students in our great State 
and independent institutions require a special religious- 
educational program, and already in the Methodist Church 
70 centers have been organized, exercising a care for 44,000 
Methodist Episcopal students. The care of the women 
students is being turned over more and more to women 
leaders, who work with the university pastors. 

(/) Professors of religious education. — ^In our thought 
of religious educational teaching we must differentiate 
between those who seek to educate their pupils religiously 
and those who give courses that prepare young people for 
leadership in this field. There is great need of both classes 
of professors in colleges and seminaries. One man can do 
both, but the purpose of the various courses should be 
definite. Every first-class seminary has a department of 
religious education. Every first-class denominational col- 



NEED FOE EELIGIOUS EDUCATION 43 

lege either has or is planning to have a chair of religious 
education. The possibilities of organizing the whole re- 
ligious program of a college about the professor of religious 
education are manifold. This great field has its appeal to 
young men and young women. 

4. What are the needs in foreign lands? The demand 
for leadership comes not alone from the United States but 
from the whole world. Wherever the Methodist Episcopal 
Church has gone, there religious education directors are 
needed. In Europe the present plan of the church calls for 
a man to head up the work of promoting religious educa- 
tion in an entire country with various well-trained assist- 
ants. In South America there is a similar plan to that 
of Europe, except that possibly one man must supervise a 
larger area. China is divided into three great sections — 
the northern, the central, and the southern — and an educa- 
tional director is put in charge of promoting, organizing, 
and correlating the religious-educational work of each unit. 
The task of organizing a religious-education program in 
such great districts as these presents one of the biggest 
opportunities in the church. The future of Christianity in 
these countries depends on the efficiency of the educational 
program. Those who have the qualifications for such 
leadership should think carefully concerning this chal- 
lenge. 

5. What training is necessary for religious-educational 
leadership? The religious-educational director should be 
a good executive, affable and approachable in manner, a 
lover of children, and having a great passion for the propa- 
gation of true religion. He should have in addition : 

(a) A general college education, which will give him a 
fine scientific, historical, literary, and philosophical back- 
ground for his broad work and contacts. 

(6) A general seminary course, during which time he 
has specialized in the field of religious education. One 
should study also in the general field of education, for its 
background and principles are essential to a director of 
religious education. 

(c) A master's or doctor's degree is highly desirable, 
and many who are entering this field are securing their 
M, A.s or Ph. D.s in religious education. 



44 BUILDEES OF THE KINGDOM 

Questions fob Thought and Discussion 

1. What is the purpose of religious education as it af- 
fects the pupils ? 

3. What are the consequences of a religious-educational 
program in a local church? 

3. What are its possibilities for society ? 

4. What vocations are open to one trained for this work? 
6. What training is necessary ? 



CHAPTEE VI 

TEACHERS AS BUILDERS 

Prov. 3. 13-18. 

13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, 
And the man that getteth understanding. 

14 For the gaining of it is better than the gaining of silver. 
And the profit thereof than fine gold. 

15 She is more precious than rubies: 

And none of the things thou canst desire are to be com- 
pared imto her. 

16 Length of days is in her right hand; 
In her left hand are riches and honor. 

17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, 
And all her paths are peace. 

18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon herr 
And happy is every one that retaineth her. 

Matt. 20. 20-28. 
20 Then came to him the mother of the sons of Zebedee 
with her sons, worshipping him, and asking a certain thing 
of him. 21 And he said unto her. What wouldest thou? She 
saith unto him, Command that these my two sons may sit, one 
on thy right hand, and one on thy left hand, in thy kingdom. 
22 But Jesus answered and said. Ye know not what ye 
ask. Are ye able to drink the cup that I am about to 
drink? They say unto him. We are able. 23 He saith 
unto them. My cup indeed ye shall drink: but to sit on 
my right hand, and on my left hand, is not mine to give; 
but it is for them for whom it hath been prepared of my 
Father. 24 And when the ten heard it, they were moved with 
indignation concerning the two brethren. 25 But Jesus called 
them unto him, and said. Ye know that the rulers of the 
Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise 
authority over them. 26 Not so shall it be among you: but 
whosoever would become great among you shall be your min- 
ister; 27 and whosoever would be first among you shall be 
your servant: 28 even as the Son of man came not to be 
ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom 
for many. 

2 Pet. 1. 5-8. 
5 Yea, and for this very cause adding on your part all dili- 
gence, in your faith supply virtue; and in your virtue knowl- 
edge; 6 and in your knowledge self-control; and in your self- 
control patience; and in your patience godliness; 7 and in 

45 



46 BUILDERS OF THE KINGDOM 

your godliness brotherly kindness; and in your brotherly kind- 
ness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, they 
make you to be not idle nor unfruitful unto the knowledge 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Out in a small Middle Western town the people were 
busy preparing for the return of one of their fellow citizens 
who had been signally honored by the nation. Everybody 
knew him familiarly as "Jim.^^ He had been popular as a 
boy; and as he came into young manhood, many predicted 
for him a great future. None was more interested in these 
possibilities than the one who had been his teacher in the 
seventh and eighth grades. She had discovered the su- 
periority of his mind and the fineness of his character and 
had given to him her best efforts. Through him she hoped 
to realize some of the dreams that were impossible of her 
own attainment. In the due course of the festivities "Jim^^ 
addressed the assembled throng. He seemed just the 
same — genial and approachable, genuine in his attitudes, 
loyal to friends, true to high ideals. He spoke feelingly of 
his youth with its many happy experiences. Suddenly 
he stopped, thought a moment, and then said : ^^The great- 
est single influence in my life was my seventh-and-eighth- 
grade teacher. She did more than teach me history, arith- 
metic, and literature : she cultivated an ambition within me 
to get all the knowledge I could. Her confidence in me 
was contagious, for from that time on I had confidence in 
myself. But, even greater than these, she taught me that 
selfishness is the worst enemy a man has, and that real 
greatness is measured in terms of service. This evaluation 
of lifers opportunities has guided my decisions on many 
occasions and has kept me clear of many pitfalls into which 
so many young men slip.^^ 

Back in the hall this former teacher sat. Tears ran 
down her cheeks, she hardly knew why. It was a deep 
sense of satisfaction to know that her efforts for him were 
not in vain, and that he was willing to give her credit for 
some of his greatness. 

It may happen that a teacher never hears a word of ap- 
preciation, but his infiuence is none the less potent. When 
the great value of his work is seen and felt, gratitude for 
the labor becomes a happy incident rather than the primary 



TEACHEES AS BUILDERS 47 

incentive. The opportunities of a teacher are far-reaching 
and constitute a real challenge to constructive service. 

1. What are the needs that a teacher should meet? (a) 
The preparation of children and young people for coopera- 
tive living. — Life is generally pictured as a struggle. When 
education is set forth as the means by which one protects 
himself against the onslaughts of others and as the source 
of power by which others are overcome, the beast instincts 
of fear and mastery are nurtured and loosed. A child so 
taught begins life with the selfish attitude of the fighter, 
whose creed is ^^Do the other as he would do you, but do 
him first.^' 

What an opportunity comes to the teacher to present life 
as a cooperative game, in which each works for the welfare 
of all ! Education should fit one to do one's share of the 
common task, to assist in providing the necessities and com- 
forts of mankind, to be a producer, not a parasite, and to 
add to the richness of the cultural life of the community 
through his own high-mindedness. Arithmetic, algebra, 
English, history, economics, literature, philosophy, and all 
the other studies become the means of training young 
people, that they may do their best for the social group as 
a whole. 

Christ insisted on the application of a new principle to 
life — ^namely, the brotherhood of man. It follows natu- 
rally from his teaching about the fatherhood of God. 
Brotherhood means family life as the basis of human rela- 
tions. The family shares, the family works together, the 
family enjoys a common heritage ; and it is for the family 
life of the world that education should aim to prepare the 
pupils. 

The crest and crowning of all good. 

Life's final star, is brotherhood. 

For it will bring again to earth 

Its long-lost purity and mirth, 

Will send new light on every face, 

A kingly power upon the race. 

And till it comes, we men are slaves 

And travel downward to the dust of graves. 

Come, clear the way, then, clear the way; 
Blind creeds and kings have had their day. 



48 BUILDERS OP THE KINGDOM 

Break the dead branches from the path: 

Our hope is in the aftermath. 

Our hope is in heroic men. 

Star-led to build the world again. 

To this event the ages ran! 

Make way for brotherhood, make way for man! 

— Markham. 



If brotherhood were taught in the schools and colleges 
of our land with the same sincerity and completeness for 
the next twenty-five years as temperance was presented 
during the last twenty-five years, we might expect equally 
astonishing results. In the past we have cultivated indi- 
vidualism and we have reaped a nation of individualists. 
Young people who burn with the passion for brotherhood 
can find in the profession of teaching a great opportunity 
for building anew the foundations of our social order. 

(&) The inculcation of high ideals of character. — 
Teachers also have the opportunities of instilling into the 
minds of the pupils high ideals of personal living. A pure 
mind that thinks wholesome thoughts, that is active with 
noble imaginations, that is animated by the finest inten- 
tions, is possible to all. Paul says that ^Vhatsoever things 
are true, . . . honorable, . . . just, . . . pure, ... of 
good report, . . . think on these things-' (Phil. 4. 8). 
Generosity, thoughtfulness, courtesy, good will, apprecia- 
tion, reverence, loyalty, and faith are attitudes that teachers 
can promote in the regular routine of the school. Char- 
acter is a goal of education ; and without honesty, justice, 
and love, education may prove a dangerous instrument. 

It is true that the public-school men look to the church 
as the primary source of ideals and character; but the 
church has a chance to influence only a small per cent of 
the boys and girls. If the mass of the American youth is 
to have the moral standards that are essential to the main- 
tenance of our present civilization, the public schools must 
give themselves seriously to this task. If there is to be any 
moral progress, these same schools must assume a large part 
of the task of raising the standards. The teachers of to-day 
are laying the moral foundations of the future. 

(c) The development of personality. — Personality is 
made up in part by the way a person looks and by every- 



TEACHERS AS BUILDERS 49 

thing he does or says or even thinks. We speak of an at- 
tractive personality, and an analysis will disclose that 
becoming attire, cleanliness, neatness, gracefulness, alert- 
ness of eyes, clearness of voice, richness of vocabulary, at- 
tentiveness, breadth of interests and sympathies, respon- 
siveness, frankness, genuineness, ideals — all these and more 
go to make up this thing we call personality. In the process 
of education these can be developed, and all honor to the 
teachers and professors who seek that end. Since person- 
ality is an important factor in eflSciency and power, more 
attention should be given to it. 

(d) The inspiration for service, — What are the stand- 
ards of success which are being taught in our schools and 
colleges to-day? These are largely expressed in the men 
who are proclaimed the most successful. In the past 
teachers have too often made the acquiring of wealth the 
test of greatness. The men whose lives were used as a 
stimulus to hard work and a spur to ambition were those 
who had secured great possessions. Consequently, it was 
natural that the big aim of schoolboys was wealth, and that 
making money became the end for which everything else 
must be sacrificed. The time has now come for a different 
measurement. Christ gave the new test when he said, 
"He that is greatest among you shall be your servant^' 
(Matt. 23. 11 ) . The measure of success according to Chris- 
tian standards is therefore the measure of service. 

It is interesting to note the increasing recognition of this 
principle among men of wealth and even among large cor- 
porations. Business to-day covets the reputation of beiug 
serviceable. Men of wealth seek to justify their existence 
by large benefactions. However, the standing of a man of 
wealth under Christian ideals is determined also by an esti- 
mate of real service rendered in and through the process of 
his money-making. Generous gifts do not make right the 
wrongs of profiteering, graft, exploitation, and injustice. 

The heroes of our youth must be men and women whose 
successes have in them no taint of selfishness and greed. 
Fallen are the gods of wealth and power, and exalted should 
be those whose lives are patterned after Jesus. The Alex- 
anders must yield place to the Livingstones, the Napoleons 
to the Florence Nightingales. The Morgans, Carnegies, 



50 BUILDEES OP THE KINGDOM 

and Eockef ellers have yet to prove that their lives, business, 
and gifts have all worked toward the establishment of the 
kingdom of righteousness and brotherhood on the earth. 
Only as the teachers possess this point of view and impart 
it to the pupils will they be laying the foundation of a 
happy, prosperous, and peaceful world. 

In thinking of the life of Chinese Gordon, with its fine 
spirit of constructive service and glorious sacrifice, the poet 
Blackie caught a vision of what all lives should be and 
phrased it thus: 

What live we for but this — 
Into the sour to breathe the soul of sweetness, 
The stunted growth to rear to fair completeness. 

To drown sneers in smiles, to fill hatred with a kiss. 
And to the sandy wastes bequeath the fame 
That grass grew behind us where we came. 

2. What qualities are necessary in a good teacher? A 

long list could very easily be made. One should love chil- 
dren and young people and enjoy working with them. Sym- 
pathy, patience, good nature, and a thorough understanding 
of young life are fundamental. The teacher should be able 
to maintain discipline through love and respect rather than 
by fear. Above all, he should be the embodiment of the 
idealism he is trying to give to his pupils and should ex- 
emplify the high ideals of character and the spirit of co- 
operation and service which he is attempting to impart to 
them. 

The personality of the teacher is important in the de- 
velopment of personality in young people, for this end is 
accomplished in no small way through the contagion of per- 
sonal influence. The following extract from a letter of a 
fifteen-year-old girl to her teacher is typical of the power 
that is exerted: "I am going away to school next year. 
While you may not like my choice of a school, I promise 
that I will strive to get the things that you always said were 
most worth while. You are my ideal, and I want to get the 
schooling that will make me just like you.'^ Therefore, 
everything that goes to make up personality should have 
the thoughtful consideration of every teacher. 

3. What training is necessary for a teacher ? For pub- 
lic-school work the State has established a minimum stand- 



TEACHERS AS BUILDERS 61 

ard of training. Young men and women who are going 
into teaching ought not to be satisfied with a minimum but 
should press on to higher standards. In teaching, all the 
resources of mind, body, and soul are brought into play. 
There is no wealth of reading or travel or experience that 
does not add greatly to the effectiveness of the teacher. A 
full college education and some specialization should be the 
standard of all who would give their best service and make 
their largest contribution to society. 

Each teacher should keep in mind that only as he studies 
and reads and travels persistently will he be able to give his 
best to the young life entrusted to him. The geography and 
history teachers who do not make their subjects live by 
using current events are failing to realize their full possi- 
bilities. The training process is never complete but should 
continue on and on as long as service is attempted. 

4. What are you going to do about the needs and oppor- 
tunities in the educational field ? Teachers have the oppor- 
tunities of multiplying their own idealism to the n-th 
degree. With a real love for their pupils, with a great en- 
thusiasm for their work, and with an idealism worthy of in- 
finite propagation there is no limit to the influence that 
teachers may exert. Whether in the public schools, the de- 
nominational colleges, or the State universities, the respon- 
sibilities are much the same. In religious schools there can 
be definite religious instruction, but in tax-supported insti- 
tutions one can present the same ethical standards without 
labeling their source. Teachers are builders, and they are 
laying the foundations of future civilization. A vocation 
with such opportunities is worthy of the life investment of 
the most gifted. 

Questions foe Thought and Discussion 

1. What are the prevailing tests of success ? 

2. What motives lead young people into teaching? 

3. Why is the question of motive so important to 
teachers ? 

4. To what extent does a teacher teach by personal ex- 
ample and through personal ideals ? 

5. How far should the public school go in taking care 
of the moral instruction of children ? 



CHAPTEE VII 
CHEISTIANITY AND HEALTH 

Matt. 9. 35-38. 

35 And Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, 
teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the 
kingdom, and healing all manner of disease and all manner of 
sickness. 36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved 
with compassion for them, because they were distressed and 
scattered, as sheep not having a shepherd. 37 Then saith 
he unto his disciples. The harvest indeed is plenteous, but the 
laborers are few. 38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the har- 
vest, that he send forth laborers into his harvest. 
Matt. 14. 13, 14. 

13 Now when Jesus heard it, he withdrew from thence in 
a boat, to a desert place apart: and when the multitudes heard 
thereof, they followed him on foot from the cities. 14 And 
he came forth, and saw a great multitude, and he had (wmpas- 
sion on them, and healed their sick. 
Mark 1. 40-42. 

40 And there cometh to him a leper, beseeching him, and 
kneeling down to him, and saying unto him. If thou wilt, thou 
canst make me clean. 41 And being moved with compassion, 
he stretched forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto 
him, I will ; be thou made clean. 42 And straightway the 
leprosy departed from him, and he was made clean. 
Luke 9. 1-6. 

1 And he called the twelve together, and gave them power 
and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. 2 And 
he sent them forth to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal 
the sick. 3 And he said unto them. Take nothing for your 
Journey, neither staff, nor wallet, nor bread, nor money; 
neither have two coats. 4 And into whatsoever house ye 
enter, there abide, and thence depart. 5 And as many as 
receive you not, when ye depart from that city, shake off the 
dust from your feet for a testimony against them. 6 And 
they departed, and went throughout the villages, preaching 
the gospel, and healing everywhere. 

The life of Dr. Wilfred T. Grenfell is a story of achieve- 
ment and service. His name is honored and his work is 
known all over Western Europe and America. He was 
born in England in 1865 and from early childhood lived 
an outdoor, vigorous life. As his education progressed, he 

52 



CHKISTIANITY AND HEALTH 63 

decided to be a doctor and he went to the slums of London 
to study and to help the poor there. It was at this time 
that he came under the influence of that great preacher, 
Dwight L. Moody. He soon saw that being a Christian 
meant living a real life of service and sacrifice, and he had 
to determine whether he would go into a practice that 
would make him rich or use his medicinal skill in unselfish 
service. The needs of people in less-favored lands were so 
persistently before him that he decided to be a missionary. 
Frederick Treves, fine surgeon and daring sailor, persuaded 
Grenf ell to go to Labrador and to minister to the fishermen 
and their families that live on that stormy, desolate coast, 
eleven hundred miles long. 

Dr. Grenfell began his work with a small hospital ship. 
Within a few months he had nearly a thousand cases. 
Going from village to village, he brought not alone the 
blessings of health but sawmills to provide building mate- 
rials, a boot factory to improve the footwear, trading posts 
that provided the means for fair exchange, schools for the 
education of the young, and churches for everybody. 

It is well to note here that a program of betterment 
avails little unless the Christian religion is put at the cen- 
ter. It is the Christian motive that prompts all welfare 
work, and only as the worker preaches Jesus Christ in his 
work can any permanent good result. Dr. Grenfell gave 
these people health as something incidental to his gift of 
Christ himself. He strove for their general good as a part 
of his religious program. 

By boat in summer and by dog teams in winter Dr. Gren- 
fell moves up and down that bleak, barren country, the one 
hope of those people. He is the great father to them all. 
To him they owe the lightening of their burdens, the bright- 
ening of their minds, and a richer and more abundant life 
that makes living more enjoyable and worth while. 

Christianity and health have marched hand in hand ever 
since Jesus showed his continual concern for the physical 
well-being of people. Time and time again he healed 
bodily ills, not to show his power or to prove his authority, 
but because of his sympathy and love for those people who 
were suffering. To-day in every land where Jesus Christ is 
known and followed, doctors, dentists^ and nurses are seek- 



54 BUILDEES OF THE KINGDOM 

ing to promote the health of the people and are carrying 
out his commission, ^^Heal the sick/^ 

1. Why are Christians interested in health? The king- 
dom of God requires the utmost possible elimination of 
disease and the universal establishment of conditions of 
healthful living. Sickness destroys life, often in its prime. 
It lessens one^s usefulness in the world. It robs one of his 
highest attainments. It prevents constructive work for the 
Kingdom. It hinders happiness and the development of 
the highest qualities of personality. Some kinds of disease 
make criminals and cripples, and some send their prey to 
the insane asylums. Eich and full life for all is impossible 
while disease stalks everywhere throughout the earth. 

2. What are the motives for health work? {a) The 
first motive for healing is sympathy and love. When one 
is sad at the sight of sickness and suffering, and yearns to 
bring to the people so afficted strength and comfort, one 
has the fundamental Christian motive for studying medi- 
cine and surgery. Without this attitude a doctor will lack 
a quality that is essential to his greatest usefulness. The 
Kingdom spirit is based on proper motives of which love 
for and interest in people is the most important. 

(6) A second motive for doctors, dentists, and nurses is 
to secure to society as a whole the largest contributions 
from each member. Disease and sickness make many men 
and women nonproductive and therefore lessen the avail- 
able resources of the group. It is estimated that the annual 
loss in the United States from preventable disease is 
$1,500,000. The Kingdom workers strive to make every 
individual fit to do his most for the world, since the greatest 
good can come only as there is complete cooperation on the 
part of all. 

(c) A third motive for health worTc is happiness. The 
Kingdom is to see the fulfillment of the ^^ood tidings of 
great joy.^^ God intended everyone should be happy; and 
since a great cause of sorrow and disappointment is sick- 
ness, the doctors can do much toward bringing in the new 
day of great and continual joy. 

Such motives as these are worthy of the finest character, 
and with them a life will be productive of the greatest use- 
fulness and power. 



CHEISTIANITY AND HEALTH 55 

3. What preparation is necessary? With a background 
of this high idealism one who is looking forward to health 
service must equip himself for responsibilities ahead. Lives 
will be intrusted to him. The future of individuals and 
families and affairs of great importance will hang upon his 
knowledge and skill. The best training, including an arts 
course, a four-year medical course, an interneship, and 
possibly some postgraduate work, is none too good. One 
must spare no time or effort in p:jreparation for doing the 
best that can be done for all persons who intrust themselves 
to his care. 

4. How shall one choose a place for work? The ques- 
tion that all young doctors, dentists, and nurses face is. 
Where shall I practice? This is too often settled in a 
selfish or offhand way. ^^Here is a pleasant community, so 
I will hang out my sign,^^ says one. ^^This is where I can 
make the most money, so I will settle here,^^ remarks 
another. ^^My friends live here, so getting started will be 
easy,^^ observes a third. So it goes with many, but those 
who decide on such bases have no vision of their work in 
relation to the building of the Kingdom. 

A young doctor with the Kingdom spirit asks at once, 
''Where is the greatest need for medical service f In the 
United States there is one doctor for every 700 persons ; in 
China there is one doctor for every 350,000 persons. In 
America health and sanitation are taught at home, in the 
public schools, by lectures, through magazines, and the pub- 
lic press. In China practically nothing is known concern- 
ing even the simplest health precautions. 

The conditions in India are as bad as those in China. 
The greater heat augments the necessity of cleanliness, but 
nothing is known of sanitation. The prescriptions of 
priests for the treatment of common ailments are revolting 
and almost suicidal. Only recently has there been any 
attempt to prevent the mingling of lepers with the rest of 
the people. The fanatical conception of the sacredness of 
all life leads to the protection of animals and vermin that 
spread the most deadly diseases. Eats, carrying bubonic 
plague, are permitted to run at liberty everywhere. 

The situations in other less-favored sections of the world 
are little better. The suffering of millions stirs the 



56 BUILDEES OF THE KINGDOM 

brotherly sysmpathies of those who are prepared to remove 
the cause of their suffering. 

The distribution of doctors is not equal even in the 
United States. Eesidential communities where large fees 
can be charged are often oversupplied, while the crowded 
sections of the large cities and the sparsely settled regions 
of mountains and plains are neglected. Foreign peoples 
bring with them their crude notions of medical care, and 
only as better ways are shown them can the health of this 
country be preserved. 

One doctor said, "I believe in looking after America 
first/^ but the dominating motive of this same doctor when 
he chose a community in which to practice was to make lots 
of money. His selfishness permitted no practical concern 
for the needy sections of even this country. 

^^Why should American doctors go abroad, anyway ?'' was 
asked by a young interne. There are many pertinent rea- 
sons. Disease in one part of the world menaces every 
other part. The scourge of influenza was imported into the 
United States. Bubonic plague was started in California 
from the rats which came across the Pacific in trading 
ships. Leprosy claims its victims in the United States be- 
cause of foreign infection. Health in our own Southern 
States was jeopardized as long as yellow fever was a scourge 
in Cuba and Panama. The Eockef eller Foundation has to 
fight hookworm in every continent of the world in order 
to stop its ravages in America. If for no other reason 
than our own protection we must wipe out disease in every 
part of the world. But there are other reasons — the reasons 
Christ would give if we should ask him. We all are 
brothers, and our love for the family in India and Africa 
is enough to make us want to heal their illnesses. Our de- 
sire for a happy, productive, abundant world should call 
forth a great army of men who will bring to all peoples the 
healing touch of Christian doctors. 

5. Is medical work appreciated by the less fortunate 
people ? Here is a testimony from Asia. For lack of doc- 
tors and nurses a Methodist hospital in China was closed. 
After three years, during which time no one was in attend- 
ance, there was still a daily procession of scores of people 
coming to the hospital for treatment. Some came hun- 



CHEISTIANITY AND HEALTH 67 

dreds of miles on foot only to find closed doors. Doctors 
whose indifferent hearts permitted this tragedy ought to 
hear in their dreams the cries of anguish that went up from 
the neglected people who stormed the closed doors of that 
Christian hospital. 

6. What is the challenge to dentists? No one can pic- 
ture the distress of the people who have never known any- 
thing about the care of the teeth. With mouths in a ter- 
rible condition of decay, ulceration, and disease people go 
from day to day and month to month suffering untold 
agonies. Few in backward lands have learned the simplest 
methods of extraction and cleaning, and untrained mission- 
aries and doctors are continually called upon for simple 
dental service. 

What a tremendous opportunity there is for a young 
dentist on the foreign field! With an unlimited con- 
stituency in the direst need, with the chance of teaching 
great masses of people the care of their teeth, and with the 
privilege of training helpers who can assist in the spread 
of the propaganda for healthy mouths no one could ask for 
a more useful career. Good teeth are essential to good 
health. Stomach troubles, neuralgia, rheumatism, and 
many other of the serious ailments of mankind often come 
from decayed teeth. To assist in keeping mankind healthy 
and to bring a larger measure of happiness and eflBciency to 
the world dentists are called to give themselves in devoted, 
constructive service. 

7. What constitutes a complete health program? The 
work of the doctors abroad is not only the healing of those 
already sick but also the prevention of disease. It is not 
only to do work themselves but to train many others who 
can carry on and extend their program. 

The doctor becomes at once a sanitary engineer. He 
seeks to clean up the city, to purify its water system, to 
educate the people in the fundamentals of hygiene. He in- 
vestigates as far as possible the food conditions of the city 
and tries to obviate contagion through that source. By 
example and demonstration he sets a standard for healthful 
living. 

In his hospital the physician abroad trains others to be- 
come doctors. They are slow to learn, but the effort is 



58 BUILDEES OF THE KINGDOM 

worth while. The little medical school so begun has possi- 
bilities of growth, and its influence spreads. Christ 
gathered his disciples to carry out his plan, and doctors 
have the privilege of multiplying themselves in the lives of 
their pupils. 

With programs of prevention, education, and leadership 
development the doctors and dentists who give themselves 
to Kingdom service abroad have a work of unlimited possi- 
bilities. The call for new recruits for the medical corps 
of the Kingdom forces is more insistent to-day than ever 
before. What can we do about it ? 

Questions for Thought and Discussion 

1. Why is health work included in Kingdom activities? 

2. Why is it necessary to send medical missionaries to 
foreign countries ? 

3. What is the fundamental motive of medical missions ? 

4. What constitutes an adequate program for health 
work? 

5. What are the opportunities for dentists abroad ? 



CHAPTEE VIII 
^THE GOSPEL AND THE PLOW^ 

Matt. 25. 34-40. 

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, 
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared 
for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hun- 
gry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me 
drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; 36 naked, and 
ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, 
and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer 
him, saying. Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? 
or athirst, and gave thee drink? 38 And when saw we thee a 
stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 
And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say 
unto you. Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, 
even these least, ye did it unto me. 
Luke 7. 20-22. 

20 And when the men were come unto him, they said, John 
the Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that 
Cometh, or look we for another? 21 In that hour he cured 
many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits; and on many 
that were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered and 
said unto them, Go and tell John the things which ye have 
seen and heard; the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, 
the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised 
up, the poor have good tidings preached to them. 
Luke 10. 30-37. 

30 Jesus made answer and said, A certain man was going 
down from Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among robbers, 
who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving 
him half dead. 31 And by chance a certain priest was going 
down that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the 
other side. 32 And in like manner a Levite also, when he 
came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. 
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he Journeyed, came where 
he was: and when he saw him, he was moved with 
compassion, 34 and came to him, and bound up his 
wounds, pouring on them oil and wine; and he set him 
on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of 
him. 35 And on the morrow he took out two shillings, and 
gave them to the host, and said, Take care of him; and what- 
soever thou spendest more, I, when I come back again, will 
repay thee. 36 Which of these three, thinkest thou, proved 

S9 



60 BUILDEES OF THE KINGDOM 

neighbor unto him that fell among the robbers? 37 And he 
said. He that showed mercy on him. And Jesus said unto him, 
Go, and do thou likewise. 

The title of Sam Higginbottom^s recent book makes a 
very appropriate subject for this chapter, for it links 
together two fundamental needs of mankind. He has 
blended the two in a most powerful manner in his work in 
India, and his pioneer endeavors have opened up a great 
new method of propagating Christianity. 

Mr. Higginbottom — ^f or he has never been ordained — was 
graduated from Princeton in 1903. He expected to take 
seminary training and go to South America or China as an 
evangelistic missionary; but a chance meeting with the 
Eev. Henry Forman, who had just returned from India, 
led to his immediate acceptance of work in that great 
Asiatic country. As a teacher of economics in the Allaha- 
bad Mission College Mr. Higginbottom came face to face 
with the practical needs of India. After six years of work 
he became convinced that scientific, modern farming, as a 
missionary method, should be taught. The mission authori- 
ties finally agreed to his going to America for specialized 
training and for the raising of the necessary funds for the 
work. He was graduated after two years from Ohio State 
University with a B. Sc. in Agriculture and returned to 
India with thirty thousand doUars with which to set up his 
program. He bought 275 acres of land, built a bungalow, 
barns, roads, and paths ; and the first mission agricultural 
school was duly opened. 

It is significant that the land chosen for the site of the 
school was the poorest in that section, covered with weeds 
and grass of the worst character and cut up by many gul- 
lies. But with the use of modern implements this land that 
would not formerly have rented for eight cents an acre was 
producing a return of twenty dollars. The hard land was 
plowed deep and fertilized, the moisture conserved, the 
ground cultivated; and the God of nature brought forth 
abundant harvests. 

The success of this farm school has grown beyond the 
expectations of its founders. Not only have outcaste Chris- 
tians come to learn the modern ways of producing life's 
necessities in abundance, but, also, the rulers and princes 



"THE GOSPEL AND THE PLOW'^ 61 

have traveled from far and near to see what was being done 
and to learn the ways of scientific agriculture. The govern- 
ment of India has been so impressed with the results of 
Mr. Higginbottom^s school that it is endeavoring to carry 
on in a broader way the work that has proved so useful at 
Allahabad. 

1. What is the need of this work? Mr. Higginbottom 
gives several reasons for the farm-school program : 

(a) Agriculture, the basic industry of the world, is 
to-day the main occupation of India and it will remain so 
because of the climate and long growing season. Farming 
development will provide the simplest and most direct way 
of giving India enough to eat and of preventing famine. 

(&) Improved agriculture is the line of least resistance 
in a society bound by caste. When taught to a low-caste 
convert it will give him enough to eat and will provide him 
with a surplus for clothing, doctor bills, the education of 
his children, and the support of his religion. It also gives 
an occupation to the sons of Christians who are not fitted 
for mission teachers or preachers. Otherwise, these often 
become an embarrassment and a care to the mission. Even 
for those folks who possess no land agricultural training in- 
creases their earning capacity two and one half times. 

(c) Training in agriculture can give the educated, non- 
Christian Indian the opportunity to earn a decent liveli- 
hood and to Tceep his own independence and self-respect. 
Though disappointed in other more promising activities, 
such as government and law, they can still be of real as- 
sistance to the nation as a whole. 

(d) The development of agriculture carries in its wake 
a great demand for related industries, such as the malcing 
and repairing of farm machinery, dairying, canning, pre- 
serving and drying of fruits and vegetables, sugar malcing, 
oil pressing, tanning, and rope making. These provide 
work, prosperity, and independence to many needy indi- 
viduals. 

(e) Agriculture meets the demand in India for voca- 
tional, or ''dollar'' education. The natives want practical 
training that will insure them the necessities of life; and 
this is of course essential before the cultural studies can be 
appreciated. 



62 BUILDEES OF THE KINGDOM 

(/) India needs roads, railroads, canals, schools, col- 
leges, libraries, and hospitals. Sixty-two per cent of the 
people of India are without any medical aid whatsoever. 
In their poverty they cannot get the necessities of food, 
much less all of these other things. Improved methods of 
farming will so increase the wealth of the people of India 
that they will be able not only to dispel the nightmare as 
well as the reality of famine but also to provide themselves 
with these other things, of which they are sorely in need. 
From the point of view of Christianity modern agriculture 
is the one sure way of getting a self-supporting, self -propa- 
gating, and self-governing church. 

2. What can be done in agricultural extension work? 
Mr. Higginbottom soon found himself in great demand 
for spreading the gospel of the plow. Colonel Sir James 
Eoberts was so impressed by the possibilities of agricultural 
training that he arranged a speaking tour of native states, 
in which Mr. Higginbottom spoke at length of the needs, 
methods, and assured results of improved farming. In 
each state the lecture was given in the palace of the 
Maharaja, with the Maharaja himself presiding. 

In 1915, on Mr. Higginbottom^s return from America, 
the Maharaja of Bombay called him to his palace to work 
out a great agricultural program for his state. This ruler 
is perhaps the wealthiest man in the world and combines 
with his great executive ability the vision and sympathy 
of a truly great leader. After the details of the program 
had been approved, the Maharaja asked Mr. Higginbot- 
tom to take full charge of the work. Being a Christian 
missionary was no obstacle to the Maharaja, but Mr. Hig- 
ginbottom would not forsake his mission school. It was so 
arranged, however, that he and one of his assistants would 
give part time to the direction of the program; and for 
their service the Maharaja paid the mission seven thousand 
dollars a year. Under his able direction the waste lands 
of this great state are being rapidly transformed into pro- 
ductive fields, and the ghost of famine is being driven per- 
manently away. 

3. What is Jesus' attitude to this work? In passage 
after passage of the New Testament the broadest program 
is urged as the purpose of Jesus and his kingdom. Jesus 



^THE GOSPEL AND THE PLOW 63 

said in one place, ^^I came that they may have life, and may 
have it abundantly^^ (John 10. 10). Can there be abundant 
life without food, clothes, health, and education? Jesus 
proclaims his Messiahship to the disciples of John the 
Baptist by saying, "Go and tell John the things which ye 
have seen and heard; the blind receive their sight, the 
lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the 
dead are raised up, the poor have good tidings preached to 
them^' (Luke 7. 23), 

Preaching was only one element in his program of King- 
dom building. These other activities were apparently 
equally important in proving the genuineness of his Son- 
ship to God. 

The most definite statement of the Christian responsi- 
bility is given in the parable of the Last Judgment. To 
those on his right hand he said, "Come, ye blessed of my 
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the 
foundation of the world : for I was hungry, and ye gave me 
to eat ; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink ; I was a stranger, 
and ye took me in ; naked, and ye clothed me ; I was sick, 
and ye visited me ; I was in prison, and ye came unto me'' 
(Matt. 25. 35, 36) . The agricultural missionary might ask 
when did he see Jesus hungry, or naked, or thirsty, and 
ministered unto him? and the answer would come back: 
"When you went to that little famine-cursed Indian village 
that had been growing ten bushels of wheat per acre and 
you taught it to grow twenty you were helping to feed the 
hungry. When you went to that village that was growing 
sixty pounds of poor, short-staple cotton per acre and 
taught them to grow three hundred pounds per acre of 
good, long-staple cotton you were helping to clothe the 
naked. When you went to that village where the well had 
dried up and you sent a boring outfit and bored down until 
you had secured an abundant supply of water, enough for 
man and beast and some over for irrigation, you were help- 
ing to give drink to the thirsty. ^Inasmuch as ye did it unto 
the lowest and meanest of India's outcastes ye did it unto 
me.' " 

4. What are the opportunities to-day? With enthusi- 
asm and determination the Methodist converts are being 
taught scientific farming, and the results are speeding up 



64 BUILDEES OF THE KINGDOM 

our endeavors to secure adequate equipment and trained 
leaders. The great Centenary movement is now providing 
the means for the extension of this work. Agricultural 
departments are being installed in our boys^ schools, farm 
schools are overcrowded, our loyal agricultural workers are 
doing magnificent service. The plans for future develop- 
ment will see the farm-school program in operation wher- 
ever Methodist missions have gone. 

In the great orphan-school program that Dr. Bysshe is 
carrying on in France agriculture is one of the main 
features. Franx^e knows little of scientific agriculture and 
of the use of modern farm machinery. On the great estate 
that Methodism has taken over the fatherless boys of our 
sister republic are learning how to make the ground most 
productive and find in this task an interesting and a re- 
munerative occupation. French Methodism will in time be 
richly repaid for the practicability of its missionary pro- 
gram. 

What a chance this field presents to one who has or will 
secure the necessary training! For practical usefulness 
and far-reaching Christian influence the teaching of scien- 
tific farming in the backward nations of the world has an 
unsurpassed appeal. 

Questions foe Thought and Discussion 

1. What is the purpose of agricultural missions ? 

2. What are the various methods used ? 

3. What results are being secured? 

4. Is agricultural work a vital part of the Christian 
program ? 

5. What is the Methodist Church doing in this field ? 



CHAPTEE IX 
OPPOETUNITIES IN EUEAL LEADEESHIP 

Matt. 13. 3-9. 
3 And he spake to them many things in parables, saying, 
Behold, the sower went forth to sow; 4 and as he sowed, some 
seeds fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured 
them: 5 and others fell upon the rocky places, where they 
had not much earth: and straightway they sprang up, because 
they had no deepness of earth: 6 and when the sun was risen, 
they were scorched; and because they had no root, they 
withered away. 7 And others fell upon the thorns; and the 
thorns grew up and choked them: 8 and others fell upon the 
good ground, and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some 
sixty, some thirty. 9 He that hath ears, let him hear. 

John 21. 15-17. 
15 So when they had broken their fast, Jesus saith to Simon 
Peter, Simon, son of John, lovest thou me more than these? 
He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. 
He saith unto him. Feed my lambs. 16 He saith to him again 
a second time, Simon, son of John, lovest thou me? He saith 
unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith 
unto him, Tend my sheep. 17 He saith unto him the third 
time, Simon, son of John, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved 
because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? 
And he said unto him. Lord, thou knowest all things; thou 
knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my 
sheep. 

Gal. 6. 7-9. 
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a 
man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth 
unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he 
that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal 
life. 9 And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due 
season we shall reap, if we faint not. 

Several years ago a young man entered the ministry in 
a great agricultural State and was offered two country 
churches as his first parish. He declined, saying, ^^No, 
one is a big enough job for me.^^ ^^But one pays only $450/' 
he was told. The young preacher replied, "If they pay me 
only that, that is all I am worth.'' After several years he 
left that work, but not until the parishioners had built a 

65 



66 BUILDERS OF THE KINGDOM 

fine church plant, with adequate social, recreational, and 
educational facilities, had erected a beautiful and comfort- 
able parsonage on an acre lot, and had raised the salary to 
$2,500 a year. 

What this young man did, others can do. As the strength 
of the nation rests upon the character, intelligence, and 
prosperity of the rural sections, the rural preachers in- 
evitably hold places of high importance. They have within 
their reach the means of meeting the physical, social, intel- 
lectual, moral, and religious needs of the farmers and their 
families, upon which character and prosperity rest. With 
an enlightened and aggressive rural ministry greater prog- 
ress may be made along all lines of country life. 

When Theodore Eoosevelt was President of the United 
States he called attention to rural America in a most ef- 
fective way. Since that time the church has slowly de- 
veloped its rural program and with increasing insistence it 
is demanding a specialized rural ministry. Too long has 
the church used country charges either as training camps 
for cub preachers or retiring grounds for worn-out veterans. 
To-day the principle is being established that only country- 
minded preachers take rural charges. 

1. What are the needs of country people? (a) Spir- 
ituality. — The greatest opportunity of the rural pastor lies 
in the religious development of his people. The Eangdom 
idea is new and strange to most country people. They 
have been accustomed to an individualistic religion as it is 
expressed in the old-fashioned revival. They are familiar 
with the occasional religious campaigns. They need the 
broader social outlook that is expressed in the teaching of 
the Kingdom and the habit of a continuous cultivation of 
the mind of Christ. They should see that religion is more 
than an emotional experience, and that it is vital only as 
it fits one for practical social living. 

The type of religious thought colors the whole life of a 
rural community. Individualists in religion make indi- 
vidualists in the community. If one is not accustomed to 
ask, ^What does Jesus want done in this community ?^' one 
is not likely to cooperate with others in community better- 
ment. Sacrifice for social welfare comes only as it is 
backed by religious sanctions. The great opportunity of 



OPPORTUNITIES IN EURAL LEADERSHIP 67 

the rural pastor lies not alone in cleansing and purifying 
individual lives but in building up a social enthusiasm that 
seeks for all the abundant life that Christ came to give, 
and in establishing the kingdom of God on earth. 

Spirituality is simply having the mind and living the 
life of Christ. The program of the church can be no nar- 
rower than the interests of Jesus. As the life of Christ is 
presented in its richness and fullness, and as individuals 
catch his spirit of good will and brotherly cooperation, the 
rural sections of this country will be lifted out of their nar- 
rowness and social indifference. 

(6) Broader and better education. — The rural pastor 
should also be an educational director. The first feature of 
the educational program has to do with religion. The 
Sunday school, the Epworth League, and other church or- 
ganizations must give themselves seriously to the building 
of character and the training of an efficient leadership for 
the church and the community. Religious vision, church 
enthusiasm, and aggressive Christian community programs 
have their source largely in this educational work of the 
local church. The rural pastor should train the youth in 
the highest ideals of Christian lifework. His program 
would be similar to that outlined for a director of religious 
education in Chapter V. 

The relation of the rural church to the public-school 
system is one of inspiration. The church ought to back 
the consolidated school and secure the blessings that such 
a centralization insures. It should seek the erection of 
dormitories for teachers by the side of the school, that they 
may have sufficient comfort and convenience to give them- 
selves continually to rural education. Only as the teachers 
love the country are they able to inspire the boys with a 
love of the farm. 

There is a general program of education that the church 
can foster. During the slack season farmers' institutes 
can be held in the church, at which the people can gather 
much practical information. Experts may be imported to 
lecture on specific problems. At Lakeville, Ohio, hog 
cholera broke out so virulently several years ago that com- 
bating it seemed impossible until the pastor of the Meth- 
odist church, C. M. McConnell, enlisted the services of a 



68 BUILDEES OF THE KINGDOM 

specialist, who, through lectures at the church, taught the 
farmers the means of effective prevention. Also, through a 
modern church library, covering a wide range of interest, 
a fine contribution may be made to the practical, intel- 
lectual, and cultural life of the community. 

(c) Recreation and social life, — It has long been as- 
sumed that country boys are more physically fit than the 
city boys, but the army examinations disclosed the inter- 
esting fact that the city youths are 10 per cent more efifi- 
cient physically than those from the country. The country 
boys work hard and develop great strength along some few 
lines, but their development as a whole falls short of the 
standard. Girls are even more in need of physical train- 
ing than the boys. Their routine of duties does not give 
them the all-round strength that is essential to the best 
health and efficiency. Since there are few Young Men's 
or Young Women's Christian Association buildings in the 
rural sections, the church must provide the gymnasiums 
for this needed physical training. This is a privilege that 
the church should eagerly grasp rather than a duty to be 
accepted. 

As the gymnasium must serve the physical needs of the 
country boys and girls during the winter, so outdoor recrea- 
tion grounds should be available for the summer. Baseball, 
tennis, indoor baseball, volleyball, horseshoes, and many 
other sports can all be made available. In the evenings the 
grounds would be crowded, and on Saturday afternoons the 
whole countryside should cease labor and play. The Sun- 
day baseball problem would not trouble the rural sections 
if the half holiday on Saturday were universally practiced. 

The value of play is not generally appreciated. Dr. 
Cabot, in his book What Men Live By, has specified play as 
one of the fundamental activities. Dr. Moses Breeze says, 
*To teach a boy or girl to play is to teach him to pray.'' 
The good will, teamwork, and fair-minded aggressiveness 
of play are elements of prayer. Prayer is in part associa- 
tion of ourselves with God and with others in the great 
campaign of establishing the kingdom of God. Playing 
with others is fine training for working with others along 
all lines of activity. 

The community should find in the church, also, the social 



OPPOETUNITIES IN EUEAL LEADEESHIP 69 

life which is so essential to its happiness and contentment. 
Moving pictures, lectures, musicales, plays, and all varie- 
ties of social events should be a part of the program of the 
church. The spirit of brotherliness is the foundation of 
the church, and it was not without good reason that Meth- 
odists have called each other by the titles "brother^' and 
^^sister.^^ Only as all the people of the church and com- 
munity come into close friendly relations can the Kingdom 
be established. 

To carry on such a program as this in connection with 
other church activities demands aggressiveness, persistence, 
and administrative ability. The rural pastor can minister 
to the community in a practical, constructive, and complete 
way as he gives time, study, and supervision to this essen- 
tial part of his Kingdom-building methods. To say that 
it will be a feeder to his church is true, but one must never 
consider this work in terms of bait to catch new members, 
for it justifies itself by its inherent value to the people who 
participate. It is not a side show but part of the main busi- 
ness of the church. 

(d) Federation, or getting together. — The Christian 
Church is awakening to the need of complete cooperation. 
This is especially true in rural sections. More and more 
the desire for the kingdom of God is taking precedence 
over any effort to further any particular theological point 
of view. Christianity is demanding that cooperation sup- 
plant competition in all lines of human activity and the 
church itself should practice this fundamental teaching of 
Jesus. 

Progress has been made in getting rural churches 
together. The farmers can see the waste of maintaining 
several church plants with their inevitable inadequacy to 
minister to the practical needs of the people. They see also 
that good leadership is out of reach of a divided com- 
munity, and that unity is necessary to secure the high type 
of preacher they ought to have. 

One small village had two church organizations, both 
meeting in the same building. This might be considered 
an example of cooperation, but the trouble lay in its in- 
completeness. Each church had about thirty members, 
with a nonresident pastor who received $300 a year. 



70 BUILDEES OP THE KINGDOM 

Finally the good sense of the people got the better of their 
prejudices, and they united. The first year they engaged 
a capable, full-time pastor, gave him a salary of $1,400, 
provided him with a parsonage and fine garden lot, and 
besides all this contributed $1,500 to missions. It is need- 
less to say that the church membership increased rapidly, 
and that the Sunday school completely outgrew its accom- 
modations. 

(e) Better financial conditions, — The welfare of a com- 
munity is dependent in no small way on its material pros- 
perity. A big church program requires generosity upon the 
part of the farmers, but they must make money before they 
can give it. So it is not outside the interest of the church 
to assist in building up the financial resources of the parish. 
This can be done by introducing new crops. In one rural 
community a preacher was instrumental in bringing alfalfa 
into the region which considerably increased the earning 
ability of tibe farmers. Another source of increased rev- 
enue for farmers might lie in the breeding of fine stock, 
which costs heavily at the start but insures large returns. 
Preachers have also been instrumental in securing coopera- 
tion in marketing with its increased price for various prod- 
ucts. 'New methods of work taught at institutes in the 
church will insure an increased yield and greater 
incomes. 

Such work as this by the rural pastor is not only for the 
purpose of increasing church resources, but also for the 
good of the people themselves. The enriching of their own 
lives through travel, books, magazines, victrolas, and au- 
tomobiles, all of which take money, is an end in itself that 
the rural pastor should promote. 

It is not enough, however, to help the farmers to make 
money ; they must be taught to give to the church and its 
broad, constructive program. If they are shown that there 
is real merit in a social and recreation program, that it will 
insure the happiness and contentment of their children, 
and that it will make it easier to get help, the farmers will 
stand back of the project. They may not see the value of 
calisthenics, but they will be appreciative of the loyalty 
and contentment of the young people. 

The pastor can cultivate generosity by a direct religious 



OPPOETUNITIES IN KUEAL LEADEESHIP 71 

appeal. God requires adequate support of the Kingdom 
program which Jesus gave to the world. A tithe is a good 
standard to hold up, but not a law to be enforced. Some 
farmers ought to give a fifth or even a third or half of their 
income. They ought to give to the world-wide campaign 
for Christ, but especially should they be made to see that 
their local investment will yield large returns to the com- 
munity of which they are part. 

2. What is necessary to meet these needs? (a) Good 
roads. — This fivefold opportunity is conditioned on the 
presence of good roads. You cannot get people out to 
church through six inches of mire. You cannot run a 
social and recreational center unless the people have a 
reasonable access to it. Eoads are the arteries of the coun- 
try's life and must be kept in good condition. 

A Methodist preacher at South Webster, Ohio, found 
himself preaching to empty pews and a decadent church 
because the roads were almost impassable in bad weather. 
He organized a good-roads association in his township and 
recruited 320 paid-up members out of a voting population 
of 500. Under his leadership they sent representatives to 
confer with the county and State road commissions, and 
with this help paved roads were laid throughout the whole 
township. 

It is such leadership as this that will make the rural sec- 
tions of our nation prosperous, happy, and contented. 
Thus will it be possible to build there the kingdom for 
which Jesus Christ lived and died. 

(6) Adequately prepared preachers. — The young man 
who is stirred by the opportunities of the rural church 
should not go hastily to his field. He should have a college 
education and, with it, some definite training along agri- 
cultural lines. Some seminary training would be very help- 
ful if one did not lose the rural vision in the city environ- 
ment. A complete dedication to the country is the attitude 
that should characterize the rural pastors, as one who goes 
as a missionary to India abandons all thought of other as- 
signments. With such preparation and with large vision 
and keen enthusiasm the young man who enters the rural 
pastorate will have as large and fine a field of service as is 
available in any place. 



72 BUILDEES OF THE KINGDOM 

Questions for Thought and Discussion 

1. Why is the church interested in the rural regions? 
Why is it so strategic ? 

2. What constitutes an adequate rural church program ? 
How would you defend each item ? 

3. Why are good roads essential? 

4. What are the qualities in a rural preacher that make 
for success? 

5. How can one get adequate financial backing in the 
country ? 



CHAPTER X 
THE KINGDOM^S CALL TO WOMEN 

Matt. 26. 6-13. 

6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon 
the leper, 7 there came unto him a woman having an alabaster 
cruse of exceeding precious ointment, and she poured it upon 
his head, as he sat at meat. 8 But when the disciples saw it, 
they had indignation, saying. To what purpose is this waste? 
9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given 
to the poor. 10 But Jesus perceiving it said unto them, Why 
trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work 
upon me. 11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me 
ye have not always. 12 For in that she poured this ointment 
upon my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. 13 Verily 
I say unto you. Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in 
the whole world, that also which this woman hath done shall 
be spoken of for a memorial of her. 
Rom. 16. 1-7. 

1 I commend unto you Phcebe our sister, who is a servant of 
the church that is at Cenchrese: 2 that ye receive her in the 
Lord, worthily of the saints, and that ye assist her in whatso- 
ever matter she may have need of you: for she herself also 
hath been a helper of many, and of mine own self. 

3 Salute Prisca and Aquila my fellow-workers in Christ 
Jesus, 4 who for my life laid down their own necks; unto 
whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the 
Gentiles: 5 and salute the church that is in their house. 
Salute Epaenetus my beloved, who is the first-fruits of Asia 
unto Christ. 6 Salute Mary, who bestowed much labor on 
you. 7 Salute Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen, and my 
fellow-prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also 
have been in Christ before me. 

To-DAY we look back to the past, and not a very distant 
past, with a feeling of chagrin that mankind would will- 
ingly deprive itself of the social contribution that women 
are able to make. Their point of view, their idealism, their 
standards, are essential to a higher and better social order 
and should be given fnll expression. It is not that they are 
better than men, but they are different and should have 
their part in the building of a new world. 

1. How can women serve the Kingdom best? (a) 

73 



74 BUILDEES OF THE KINGDOM 

In the home. — It is in the home that women can wield their 
largest influence. The fundamental institution of civiliza- 
tion is the family, and here are cultivated those ideals 
which are essential to the highest type of social life. You 
can never have discipline in the world if it is not first 
taught in the home. Brotherliness, fair play, cooperation, 
consideration, and love are the bases of family life and also 
of society; but society will never have these operative in 
it except as they are established in the homes. When the 
Christian standards of the home decay, civilization is 
doomed. 

Methodism owes its ideals, its vision, and its purpose in 
no small measure to the illustrious mother of its founder. 
In her home Susanna Wesley gave herself in painstaking 
fidelity and unswerving patience to the training of her 
children in the high idealism of her own lofty soul. John 
Wesley was heir to her spirit and faith, and much of his 
later power was due to her early instruction. As the 
mother of a score of children she might have had some 
excuse for neglecting religious instruction, but nothing 
could have turned her from what she considered her pri- 
mary responsibility. 

Women in large part make the home, and the hope of 
the future lies in their loyalty and devotion to the highest 
ideals of family life. Some feared that enfranchisement 
would suppress their homemaking instincts, but nature is 
not so easily overbalanced. Their vote enables them to help 
in guarding their homes from outside attacks and evil in- 
fluences as supplementary to their efforts to build them 
strong from within. Whatever else women may do, the 
supreme blessings and happiness of home will be the first 
choice of practically all girls as they are entering maturity. 
No higher calling can come to the young woman than the 
making of an ideal home in which the cardinal virtues of 
humanity have full expression, whence, through her chil- 
dren, she gives to the world noble Christian leadership, and 
in which she can radiate a spiritual atmosphere of whole- 
someness and love. 

But the responsibilities of home should not take all of 
a mother's time. If Harriet Beecher Stowe had thought 
her duty completed by her faithfulness in the home. Uncle 



THE KINGDOM^S CALL TO WOMEN 75 

Tom's Cabin would never have set the minds and hearts of 
America afire with the passion for justice. If Alice Free- 
man Palmer had confined her interests within the narrow 
circle of family life, higher education for women might 
have been greatly delayed in its development. If the great 
bands of parsonage wives did not give themselves in con- 
tinual service to the church as well as to their homes, the 
effectiveness of the Kingdom forces would be greatly re- 
duced. The spirit of the home itself is enriched by the 
outside activities of the mother. To be shut within the 
four walls of a home tends to dwarf a woman^s soul. Chil- 
dren learn good will and service for others as the mother 
gives of her time and energy to community betterment and 
Kingdom building. There is the possibility of a neglect 
of home that must be guarded ; but the vigor, interest, and 
affection of home are augmented by a reasonable partici- 
pation of the mother in church work and other worthy 
causes. 

(&) In the field of home economics. — Some women do 
not get married, and many of these can do effective work 
in teaching the principles of successful home management. 
This is a truly great calling, for it seeks to fortify civiliza- 
tion at its source. It strives to make home cooking nutri- 
tious and delicious and at the same time economical. It 
teaches a woman the art of making an attractive home 
with very limited funds and trains her in management, so 
that she can get the maximum results with a minimum ex- 
penditure of time and energy. As the happiness of a home 
is dependent to a considerable extent on the physical en- 
vironment, this cannot be neglected. Though everyone 
recognizes that the real home is a spiritual product, the 
atmosphere of the home is determined by both the physical 
and spiritual factors, and only in the promoting of each 
can the finest homes be established. 

At the beginning of Christian missions all attention was 
given to the spiritual aspects of life, and it is only recently 
that the demand has come for young women trained in the 
principles of home economics to teach the women of back- 
ward nations how to make attractive homes. It is easier 
to improve the spiritual condition of the home as one im- 
proves the physical, for the two go naturally together. The 



76 BUILDERS OP THE KINGDOM 

task of cleaning up the homes of such countries as Mexico 
and China and India is large. It means more than giving 
lectures to mothers, for there must be a demonstration 
home, where the people can see just what results are pos- 
sible. It means the training of young girls before they get 
into the slovenly habits of their mothers. It means the 
building of a home morale, which seeks cleanliness, tidi- 
ness, attractiveness, and wholesome cooking. The process 
will be slow at best, but gradually new standards will per- 
meate the social group, as leaven works in dough. 

Many young women with degrees from departments 
of home economics are finding their greatest usefulness in 
spreading the gospel of the efficient home over lands that 
know nothing of its richness and meaning. They carry 
with them the story of Jesus Christ and have the satisfac- 
tion of seeing Christian civilization being builded upon 
the ruins of a heathen social order. What an opportunity 
this opens to the large-visioned, aggressive girl who wants 
to make the largest possible contribution to the new world 
that is being established ! 

(c) In nursing, — "Blessed are the mercifu?^ was surely 
meant for the nurses who give themselves to suffering 
humanity. While hospitals are the best expression of the 
sympathy and tenderness of this age, the nurses are largely 
the medium for that expression. Their continued minis- 
tries ease the long hours of pain and make the nights bear- 
able. The high place they hold in the thought and esteem 
of the people is due to their application in daily life of the 
spirit of Jesus Christ. 

Here is a challenge for the girl who wants to live a life 
of helpfulness and service. With great need all about for 
the ministrations of a nurse the hospitals ought to be 
flooded with applications for training. The course is broad 
and useful, for it not only provides a profession by means 
of which one can earn a good livelihood, but also, in many 
ways, equips one for home life should such an opening 
prove acceptable. 

The need of nursing is not confined to the United States, 
and the responsibilities of American girls do not cease with 
an adequate supply of nurses for this country. There are 
lands across the sea where people know little of the care 



THE KINGDOM'S CALL TO WOMEN" 77 

of the sick and lack entirely the knowledge and spirit of 
Jesus. To these also must nurses go, that they may carry 
healing and health. The chance of teaching the funda- 
mental principles of hygiene, of ministering to the ajSaicted, 
and of interpreting to them through such instruction and 
helpfulness the only true God and his Son, Jesus Christ, 
are not openings that can be lightly cast aside. 

The world needs nurses — lots of them — who will work 
in hospitals, in homes, as district visitors in poor sections 
of great cities, where sickness quite often has no care what- 
ever; in foreign lands, where the continuous cry of the 
suffering ascends to a God of mercy and love, who is help- 
less to answer except as we go for him. Young women, will 
you give yourselves to caring for God's children, who the 
whole world round need your tender healing hands ? What 
a chance to realize your largest usefulness ! 

(d) III church work. — According to the Gospel of John, 
Mary Magdalene was the first to whom Jesus appeared 
after his resurrection (John 20. 16-18). He sent her to 
tell his disciples that he lived. Her spiritual perception, 
which enabled her to be the first to know this great truth, 
and the fact that Christ asked her to tell it might well be 
considered woman's special commission for service in 
spreading the good news of the Kingdom. 

The General Conference of 1920 authorized the election 
of women as local preachers and gave the district superin- 
tendents power to appoint them as supplies for vacant 
charges. This gives to the women a new field of work. 
They have proved excellent directors of religious educa- 
tion and supervisors of recreation. They are capable 
visitors and make efficient assistants to pastors. As church 
secretaries they can handle a great variety of responsibili- 
ties and often become almost indispensable to the smooth 
working of a religious and social program. 

Here are openings for which a girl may prepare herself 
with certainty of steady work, of wholesome surroundings, 
of a living salary, and of unlimited usefulness. 

(e) In politics. — Women have their place in public life. 
Dr. Charles W. Eliot said, ^The place of women is in the 
home to make better children for the world"; but one can 
go further than that and say that not only is the place of 



78 BUILDEES OF THE KINGDOM 

woman in the home to make better children for the world, 
but she must also help to make the world a better place for 
her children. Their presence will prove a source of moral 
power to the nation as a whole. They are not likely to lose 
their ethical insight or spiritual vision, but rather, on the 
whole, will they give new vitality to the better and more 
constructive tendencies in modem life. 

Already women are in legislative halls, on the judge^s 
seat, and on various public boards, departments, and com- 
mittees. Those who predicted foolishness from them have 
proved false prophets, for with modesty and intelKgence 
they have fulfilled their responsibilities with credit to 
themselves and their sex. 

Consecrated public servants, who put the welfare of the 
social group before selfish interests of any class and who 
seek the extension of brotherhood throughout the world, 
can do much in the building of the kingdom of God. In 
this work women will have an ever-increasing share, but 
they must continually remember that politics is a means to 
service, and that they justify their new privileges only by 
constructive statesmanship. 

(/) In many other ways. — ^Various opportunities for the 
woman in Christian service have been treated in other chap- 
ters of this book. She will have her responsibilities as a 
lay woman, she can go into medicine, dentistry, teaching, 
journalism, architecture, or pharmacy. More and more 
will there open before her great fields of practical useful- 
ness in a manifold variety of forms. Young women should 
prepare themselves for some practical work besides home- 
making, and if they do not get married they can still make 
a worthy contribution to society and the kingdom of God. 
But always will homemaking and motherhood provide the 
largest and most important service for the women of the 
world. 

2. What education is necessary? The girl has need of 
just as much schooling as a boy. She should not be satis- 
fied until she has a college degree and possibly some spe- 
cialized training in addition. The world needs trained 
leaders who with a wisdom born of hard study and keen 
observation give themselves whole-heartedly to the task at 
hand. 



THE KINGDOM^S CALL TO WOMEN 79 

The homemaker may say that she does not need a col- 
lege education, but she must realize that her companion- 
ship through life with a university-trained man will em- 
barrass her if she cannot enter intelligently into his 
thought, studies, reading, and diversions. Besides, with- 
out an education she may soon find herself out of touch 
with the interests of her children. But more than all else 
for the cultural life of her home, for her outside activities, 
and for her own enjoyment of life a full education is 
desirable. To those who plan a life of service additional 
education means larger usefulness, and no one will want to 
circumscribe her life by a failure to get all the training 
possible. 

Questions poe Thought and Discussion 

1. What added responsibilities does this new day bring 
to women? 

2. Why is the home so important as a foundation for 
civilization ? 

3. To what extent ought women to be in public life ? 

4. To what extent does the church use women in its 
leadership ? 

5. What should be the educational equipment of women? 

6. What is the supreme opportunity of women to-day? 
Why? 



CHAPTEE XI 

SPECIAL TYPES OP SEEVICE 

Matt. 6. 19-24. 

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, 
where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break 
through and steal: 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in 
heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where 
thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 for where thy 
treasure is, there will thy heart be also. 22 The lamp of the 
body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole 
body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy 
whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light 
that is in thee be darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 No 
man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, 
and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the 
other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 
Eph. 6. 7, 8. 

7 With good will doing service, as unto the Lord, and not 
unto men: 8 knowing that whatsoever good thing each one 
doeth, the same shall he receive again from the Lord, whether 
he be bond or free. 

A GLANCE over the list of activities treated separately in 
this course will readily disclose its incompleteness. It is 
impossible to present within the limits of so short a study 
all the opportunities of full-time Christian service. There 
are other needs that must be met by those young people who 
are qualified by their interests and by their opportunities 
for preparation. 

1. What are some other forms of Christian service? 
(a) Publication, — The average preacher reaches each week 
through the spoken word about five hundred persons. Did 
you ever stop to consider the congregation of a writer? 
One article of his may claim the attention of a million per- 
sons. His point of view on vital problems and his presenta- 
tion of the fundamental values exert a wide and profound 
influence. Some people accept more readily what is printed 
than what is spoken, for the former seems to carry greater 
authority. Christianity does not neglect the full use of 
this important means of education and inspiration. 

80 



SPECIAL TYPES OP SEEVICE 81 

The Christian writer has a variety of pulpits from which 
to preach. He can edit a religious paper that is read by 
tens and hundreds of thousands. He can prepare religious 
textbooks for study in the Sunday schools. He can write 
articles for magazines that have large circulation. He can 
produce a book that has the charm and power to grip the 
lives of many individuals and make them better. 

Laymen also have in this field a great opportunity for 
Christian service. Newspaper editors are to-day taking 
their work more seriously from the moral and religious 
point of view. These great molders of public opinion 
cannot ignore their responsibility for these fundamental 
values of modern life. Magazine editors and general pub- 
licists face also the increased demands for stability of 
character and nobility of purpose, and many are trying to 
do what they can to meet these needs of to-day. 

Here is a field that will challenge the intellectual re- 
sources of the best minds and call for a high development 
of moral discrimination and of spiritual insight. It con- 
stitutes a field of wide influence and effective service. 

(&) Community service, — The program of community 
service is the practical working out of the Elngdom prin- 
ciples. Its scope and character indicate clearly the grasp 
of its leaders on the fundamentals of Jesus' teaching. 

In the first place, it is a program of ''first aid/' It seeks 
to know conditions as they are and to meet the needs where 
they exist. If people are sick, doctors must be provided; 
if children are undernourished, food must be sent in; if 
men are out of work, jobs must be found; if people are cold, 
clothes and fuel must be obtained; if houses are unsani- 
tary, the conditions must be improved; if there are not 
sufficient recreational facilities, these must be obtained. 
But the doctor who can prescribe medicine only to lessen 
the pain without removing the cause is a quack and should 
be dismissed, and the social workers that see no further 
than making the people a little more comfortable tempo- 
rarily have a small and inadequate conception of their task. 

In the second place, therefore, it is a program of social 
reiuilding. It studies causes, not symptoms, and seeks to 
remove the underlying source of social infection. The 
Negro problem must be solved by adequate provision for 



82 BUILDEKS OF THE KINGDOM 

education and the inculcation of a friendly spirit in both 
Negroes and whites. The immigrant situation must not be 
approached with temporary expedients, for a healthy 
society can be established only by far-reaching and long- 
continued scientific treatments. The industrial problem, 
which now affects our whole social life, must be solved with 
the end of making industry a source of social strength 
rather than a means of social deterioration. 

To work in this field one can connect himself with a 
church that is strategically located with reference to social 
need. Or one might go into a charity organization society 
which attempts to organize, systematize, and make con- 
structive the whole service program. As there is danger of 
pauperizing people through philanthropy, cooperation of 
all agencies that do social work is essential. Or, again, one 
may find a social settlement or some endowed agency, such 
as the Eussell Sage Foundation, the means of giving him- 
self to this task of social betterment. 

The church worker, however, has the best and most con- 
structive approach, for he carries with his social program 
the means of strength for the people. By his religion he 
can cleanse their moral wretchedness and make of them 
new creatures. He can also put new motives into the hearts 
of people through the spirit of Jesus Christ. He can trans- 
form race hatred into brotherhood, he can supplant selfish- 
ness and greed by love and service. Unless one can change 
the hearts of men as well as their environment, no perma- 
nent good will be accomplished. The two must go hand 
in hand — ^better conditions under which to live and a new 
spirit within. While some agencies can improve the ex- 
ternal conditions — and these ought to have every possible 
backing — only the church is able to create the pure and 
noble heart life that must always be the basis of any per- 
manently ideal society. The kingdom of God depends 
on an aggressive community service program that is 
coupled with the rebirth of which Jesus spoke to Nicode- 
mus as an essential to seeing the kingdom of God. 

(c) Architecture. — Full-time Christian service in the 
realm of architecture is new in Methodism, but the science 
of building beautiful, effective, and economical church 
plants is of great importance. Hundreds of thousands 



SPECIAL TYPES OP SEEVICE 83 

of dollars are annually wasted in the erection of inadequate 
church buildings. In many plants provision for the com- 
plete program that the church ought to put on is lacking. 
Too often the vision of the pastor determines the type of 
structure rather than the vision of the church. Quite fre- 
quently there is no beauty in the structure either without 
or within, and the probability of worship in it is thereby 
lessened. The church is in a special way ^^the house of 
God/^ and indifference to the beauty of his home is a mark 
of disrespect that reacts upon the minds and hearts of the 
people. 

This program of church building is as broad as Meth- 
odism. There must be a few highly trained architects in 
foreign lands to provide, in terms of the religious and social 
program and of the ideals of the respective countries, beau- 
tiful, effective, and economical plants. The people who 
are contributing the money should demand that there be 
no waste, but that complete and attractive buildings be pro- 
vided for the carrying on of the Christian work. This 
construction must be supervised, that the best results may 
be secured. 

There vnll not be large salaries for such work, for those 
who accept its responsibilities must give of their time and 
abilities on the same loyal and sacrificial basis that prevails 
in other forms of church work at home and abroad. 

(d) Engineering. — More and more in foreign countries 
men are needed for civil-engineering work. The gospel of 
Jesus Christ means health, and health necessitates sewer- 
age, and sewerage requires engineers. All sorts of con- 
struction inside of the mission compounds demand 
engineers. As it is true in agriculture, so it is true in 
engineering, that the full life that Christianity desired to 
bring can come only through the service of those who are 
caring for the physical as well as the spiritual needs of the 
people. In the Christian schools professors of engineering 
wiU be needed on an ever enlarging scale. But, as in 
architecture, the missionary engineer goes out on the same 
financial basis as the evangelist and must have the same 
loyalty to and the same willingness to sacrifice for the 
kingdom of God. 

(e) Pharmacy. — ^Wherever the church carries on its pro- 



84 BUILDERS OP THE KINGDOM 

gram of health in any large way, there a pharmacist is 
needed to prepare the medicines that are necessary for the 
healing of the sick and the prevention of disease. In the 
hospitals and where a community program of health is 
conducted drugs are demanded, and the consecrated, ag- 
gressive, resourceful, experienced pharmacist has a big 
opportunity for constructive service. 

(/) Business. — The propagation of the kingdom of God 
requires the handling of large sums of money. Expert 
business men must give their lives to this work. Honesty 
is not a sufficient qualification, for waste through ineffi- 
ciency is just as big a loss to the church as loss through 
theft. Business talents can be consecrated to the use of the 
Master as well as teaching and medical talents. Pull-time 
business managers are needed for the various boards of the 
church and for the educational and philanthropic institu- 
tions. 

On the foreign fields there are also opportunities for 
those who want to conduct the business affairs of the mis- 
sion program. Vast sums of money are annually expended, 
and the greatest efficiency is required. 

Mention should also be made of the openings for stenog- 
raphers and secretaries. It is no small opportunity that 
comes to the girl with the pad and typewriter. If her 
heart is in the work, if she uses her own ingenuity in the 
tasks given to her, she can be a powerful factor in every 
type of Christian organization that has money enough to 
employ her. In a local church, in the various boards of the 
church, on the foreign mission fields there are big oppor- 
tunities for the girl who consecrates her mind as well as her 
time to Kingdom building. 

Another phase of business in Kingdom building is seen 
in the work of the Eev. L. B. Jones at Aligarh, India. 
Although he is a dentist by profession he has secured all 
the latest equipment for automobile work and has taught 
the Indian boys to make repairs quickly and scientifically. 
He runs a shoe factory that turns out shoes in such quanti- 
ties that there is general distribution to missionaries all 
over India. He has also trained the Indian youths to 
make furniture, leather goods, and baskets. Girls are 
taught to make bread, and this bakery turns out not only 



SPECIAL TYPES OP SEEVICE 85 

130 loaves a day but a fine lot of girl cooks. This enter- 
prise is not only productive of income to the mission station 
but it is a means of livelihood to those Christians who go 
out from the school. 

2. Who are eligible for this work? Those whose inter- 
ests lead them toward these specialized lines of work, and 
whose earnestness of purpose drives them to the attainment 
of complete preparation ought to ask themselves seriously 
if God has need of them as full-time workers in the cam- 
paign for a righteous world. One^s ability to meet a need 
is usually God's call to that service. 

Questions foe Thought and Discussion 

1. What constitutes a complete community-service pro- 
gram? 

2. Why should some engineers and architects give their 
time wholly to the church ? 

3. Why is the work of a writer so important to the 
Kingdom ? 

4. How can business interest be used in Kingdom ex- 
tension ? 

5. What constitutes adequate preparation for any of 
these special forms of service ? 



CHAPTER XII 

THE OBLIGATIONS OP A CHRISTIAN LAYMAN 

Matt. 6. 33. 
33 But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; 
and all these things shall be added unto you. 
Matt. 7. 12. 

12 All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should 
do unto you, even so do ye also unto them: for this is the law 
and the prophets. 

1 Cor. 16. 1, 2, 13, 14. 

1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I gave 

order to the churches of Galatia, so also do ye. 2 Upon the 

first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, 

as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come. 

13 Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be 
strong. 14 Let all that ye do be done in love. 

The philosophy of many people was well phrased in an 
editorial that appeared several years ago in a New York 
paper. It was in the form of a parable about two young 
brothers who rode to work on the subway. Both despised 
the noise, the jostling, and the stuffiness of that great 
underground system of transportation. One said, "I shall 
try to improve this means of travel, so that the millions 
who ride in the subway may not be subjected to so much 
discomfort.^^ So he gave time and energy without stint to 
this work, but little seemed to be accomplished. The other 
said, "I am going to make lots of money, so I can ride in 
an automobile.^^ "To-day /' the editorial concluded, ^^the 
first is still riding amid the clatter and odors of the sub- 
way, and the second is riding back and forth to work in a 
limousine.^^ The moral was quite evident; but the lesson 
was pagan, and the ambition it sought to foster was selfish. 
What would Christ have done if he had been there ? With 
which brother would he have labored? Did the editor in- 
terpret the American spirit by urging all to grab what they 
could, to lift themselves out of unpleasant circumstances 
and conditions and to pay no attention to the weHare of 

86 



OBLIGATIONS OP A CHEISTIAN LAYMAN 87 

others ? It is for the laymen and lay women to decide what 
the spirit of America is or will be. These control directly 
the character of civilization, and those who call themselves 
Christian have certain fundamental obligations. 

Some men and women are called to do the ordinary work 
of the world. While the moral and spiritual values are 
the foundation of our social structure, there would be no 
society unless some provided the physical necessities of 
life. Workers in this jB.eld should have a worthy purpose in 
life. The building of the Kingdom is just as much the re- 
sponsibility of a layman as it is of a religious worker. He 
has different activities, but all ought to focus to the same 
end. 

1. How can one fulfill the responsibilities of a layman? 
(a) By the application of Kingdom principles to husi- 
ness. — The first care of a man or woman who holds a lay 
relation in the church is to fulfill in his or her business or 
profession the ideals of Christ. The spirit of the Kingdom 
should show itself clearly in the industrial plants that are 
owned by Christians. The note of brotherhood should 
breathe through all the activities of a commercial enter- 
prise. Abandon of service should characterize professional 
men and women. Ministers can talk of the principles of 
the Kingdom, but the laymen and laywomen apply them in 
the conduct of the work of the world. 

There was once a lawyer who began his career with a 
statement like this : ^T shall seek justice rather than fees. 
I shall strive to protect the weak rather than ally myself 
with the strong.^^ His career was not lucrative, his clients 
were poor, and his cases difficult. But he held to his pur- 
pose. Years have passed by, and the spirit of his practice 
has won for him an ever widening circle of admirers. He 
championed the cause of the widow who faced injustice ; he 
pleaded the case of the fatherless ; he sought for the rights 
of the downtrodden. Always was his voice raised in behalf 
of the less fortunate and oppressed. Eeal recognition came 
at last, and to-day he sits as a justice of the Supreme Court, 
a friend still of the mass of people whose interests he 
always defended. Judge Brandeis might have made more 
money, but he chose to do his best by humanity. 

Many Christian men are struggling with the problem of 



88 BUILDEKS OF THE KINGDOM 

applying the teachings of Jesus Christ to their business 
enterprises. They seem helpless at times, for they find 
themselves in a system that compels conformity. As long 
as profits rather than persons are the chief interest of a con- 
cern, its attitudes must be termed ^^pagan.^' The Christian 
purpose behind business should be the supplying of human 
wants and the creating of human happiness, and the 
processes of business should harmonize with this funda- 
mental aim. If men are worked for long hours under great 
mental and physical strain for low wages, misery and 
degradation are the inevitable outcome. If girls in in- 
dustry are subjected to physical and nervous strain, inade- 
quate wages, and immoral environment, the plants so oper- 
ating should be closed by law. 

A survey of vice conditions in a great Middle Western 
city showed that a startling proportion of the girls came 
from a small manufacturing town near by, where condi- 
tions in the factories literally drove the young women who 
worked there into sin. The head of one of those factories 
is a religious leader in the State, but his business is in 
league with the enemies of the Kingdom. A man must be 
held responsible for the human output of his concern. 

One manufacturer in the Middle West sought to put 
persons before profits as the first consideration. He in- 
stalled every safety device known. He protected the health 
of his workers. He encouraged education among his em- 
ployees and provided the means therefor. He organized his 
workers, gave them a share in the business and a voice in 
the management where they were affected. He cultivated 
courtesy, ambition, constructive thinking, and honor. He 
paid his employees living wages for an eight-hour day and 
offered advancement to all who paid the price of improve- 
ment. This man not only built a great successful industrial 
plant, but he also was helping to establish the kingdom of 
God. What is essential now is that such an industrial pro- 
gram will not be the spasmodic whim of a generous-hearted 
and highly successful man but the regular system under 
which all the business of the world is carried on. 

The primary consideration of a Christian man in 
political life is the spread of the Kingdom. Lawmakers, 
judges, and executives have fine opportunities to put King- 



OBLIGATIONS OF A CHEISTIAN LAYMAN 89 

dom ideals to work. The heroism of State Senator Foelker 
of New York is a splendid example of one who put right- 
eousness before selfish interest. When the race-track bills 
were before the Legislature in 1908, sentiment was so 
divided in the Senate that passage hung on a very narrow 
margin. When the bills were reported out of the com- 
mittee, Senator Foelker was seriously sick. He was deter- 
mined, however, that those bills would not fail through 
his absence. Getting up out of his bed, he was taken to 
the Senate chamber as the time for voting drew near. He 
was very weak and seemed every moment on the point of 
collapse. With grim fortitude he waited while the senators 
who sought to delay the vote wrangled and stalled. Finally 
his name was called, and his clear ^^Aye^^ rid the State of 
New York of a great gambling evil; for the bills passed 
by only one vote. 

The essence of the Kingdom life is unselfishness and 
service. Its citizens strive continually for the growth of 
righteousness and justice, for the spread of health and 
knowledge, prosperity and happiness, culture and honor. 
As men give themselves to these causes in their professions 
and business, the Kingdom will steadily advance. 

(&) By the exercise of stewardship of money. — While 
seeking to build the Kingdom in one^s own sphere of 
activity one must remember that its ideals and spirit must 
be propagated and extended. ^^The strength of the wolf is 
the pack, and the strength of the pack is the wolf .^^ The 
permanence of your Kingdom efforts is dependent on the 
strength of the entire movement, and the entire movement 
is in like relationship dependent on you. 

In order that the Kingdom may grow, churches are built, 
ministers are trained and employed, and missionaries are 
sent to the uttermost ends of the earth. Our world is 
pretty small, and the Kingdom cannot fully come in one 
place until it is established everywhere. To carry on this 
great world propaganda money is necessary. 

The Jewish nation claimed one tenth of each person^s 
income to pay the expenses of its religious government. It 
was a very early form of income tax. Christians have come 
to feel that this old custom is usually a minimum of what 
they ought to do to-day. It is to be observed, not as com- 



90 BUILDEBS OF THE KINGDOM 

pliance to a law, but in the spirit of stewardship. The 
conception of stewardship is that all of one^s possessions are 
held in trust for the kingdom of God, and not one tenth 
alone. Every Christian is obliged to render a full account 
for the use of his entire income. 

The only way that the Kingdom can be systematically 
and adequately supported is through trained givers who 
recognize their fundamental obligations to God and his 
kingdom. A most satisfactory method to follow is the 
budget. In this way a man^s income is divided among 
various items, which include living, education, recreation, 
and the Kingdom. Along with the rest the Kingdom item 
is subdivided by designating specific sums to the various 
causes which have claims upon him for his gifts. Careful 
planning helps one weigh the needs presented, especially 
in comparison with expenditures along other lines. 

Generous giving is a matter of vision and habit. A pas- 
sion for the coming of the Kingdom will call forth the 
fullest support, and early habits of giving grow. All must 
cultivate this vision and habit, for without it one will be a 
poor citizen of the kingdom of God. 

(c) By observing the stewardship of time. — Many per- 
sons are willing to give their money who will not give their 
time. They wish to pay others to assume responsibilities 
that belong to them. But if they are able to support addi- 
tional workers in order that they may evade the strain, 
then they did not give enough in the first place. One must 
give to the limit of his money and then give of his time. It 
is impossible to buy citizenship in the Kingdom at any 
price ; one must earn it by a personal service that develops 
the finest qualities of the soul. One is not educated by 
proxy, one cannot become a musician by paying someone 
else to practice for him, and one does not become a citizen 
of the Kingdom except as one pays the price in personal 
work. 

The stewardship of time involves the shouldering of some 
specific task in the kingdom of God and giving to it the 
time necessary to make it a success. It may be one of a 
hundred jobs — teaching in the church school, serving as an 
ofiicial in the church, leading a boys' club, doing friendly 
visiting, raising money for new equipment, working in mis- 



OBLIGATIONS OF A CHEISTIAN LAYMAN 91 

sionary societies, cooperating with philanthropic agencies 
in a community, serving on boards and committees for 
special religions work. Your own inclinations and abili- 
ties will indicate what you should do. The important 
thing, however, is to do something. If you start in on 
work for which you are not adapted, change to something 
else, but never grow discouraged and quit. 

One should enter a certain type of part-time service with 
the idea of making that his permanent Christian effort. 
Each church needs a large number of young people who 
will enter church-school teaching as a lifework on a volun- 
teer basis and give themselves to thorough preparation. 
Never will our schools be eflBcient until there is more con- 
scientious and thoroughgoing dedication to religious teach- 
ing. Many teachers drop out of church-school work just 
as their training and experiences are making them most 
useful, and this turnover causes an incalculable loss to the 
church and the Kingdom. Church-school teaching should 
be a life-long service. Other departments of church work 
need similar life investments and should have the strength 
of experienced leadership. 

(d) By adequate preparation for part-time service. — 
Stewardship of time involves also adequate training for the 
work that one assumes. This does not mean that one must 
be fully prepared when he begins a piece of work but, 
rather, that one will strive to make himself efficient as he 
proceeds. A bungling that one would not tolerate in busi- 
ness should not be offered to God in the work of his king- 
dom. If the task is important enough to command one^s 
time, one ought to be sufficiently interested to become pro- 
ficient. It^s a poor woodsman who uses a dull ax, and only 
lazy workers fail to fit themselves for their work in the 
church. 

Every Sunday-school teacher should know what he is 
supposed to do and how to do it. Every church official 
should be thoroughly familiar with the purpose and pro- 
gram of the church and see to it that the best methods are 
pursued. Knowledge of aims and methods, standards and 
tests, is essential to each worker in every field of activity. 
When the importance of this is realized, progress will be 
increased manyf old. 



92 BUILDEES OF THE KINGDOM 

Questions foe Thought and Discussion 

1. What are the distinguishing marks of the Christian 
business or professional man ? Illustrate. 

2. To what extent should the principles of the Kingdom 
be applied to industry? 

3. What is an adequate purpose for a layman or lay- 
woman ? 

4. What are the Christian standards for use of time and 
money ? 

5. To what extent is preparation necessary for Christian 
service ? 

6. What are the opportunities and responsibilities for 
laymen and laywomen in church work? 



CHAPTEE XIII 

THE GEEAT INVESTMENT 

Isa. 6. 1-8. 

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting 
upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the 
temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim: each one had six 
wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he 
covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried 
unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of hosts: 
the whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And the foundations 
of the thresholds shook at the voice of him that cried, and the 
house was filled with smoke. 5 Then said I, Woe is me! for 
I am undone ; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell 
in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have 
seen the King, Jehovah of hosts. 

6 Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in 
his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 
7 and he touched my mouth with it, and said, Lo, this hath 
touched thy lips ; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin 
forgiven. 8 And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying. Whom 
shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am 
I; send me. 

Mark 12. 28-34. 

28 And one of the scribes came, and heard them questioning 
together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked 
him. What commandment is the first of all? 29 Jesus answered. 
The first is. Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is 
one: 30 and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with 
all thy strength. 31 The second is this, Thou shalt love thy 
neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment 
greater than these. 32 And the scribe said unto him. Of a 
truth. Teacher, thou hast well said that he is one; and there 
is none other but he: 33 and to love him with all the heart, 
and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and 
to love his neighbor as himself, is much more than all whole 
burnt-offerings and sacrifices. 34 And when Jesus saw that he 
answered discreetly, he said unto him. Thou art not far from 
the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him 
any question. 

John 15. 13-16. 

13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down 
his life for his friends. 14 Ye are my friends, if ye do the 
things which I command you. 15 No longer do I call you 
servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: 

93 



94 BUILDEES OP THE KINGDOM 

but I have called you friends; for all things that I heard from 
my Father I have made known unto you. 16 Ye did not 
choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that ye should 
go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide : that what- 
soever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give 
it you. 

1 Cor. 13. 
1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but 
have not love, I am become sounding brass, or a clanging 
cymbal. 2 And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all 
mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to 
remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And 
if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my 
body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing. 
4 Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love 
vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 doth not behave itself 
unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not 
account of evil; 6 rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but re- 
joiceth with the truth; 7 beareth all things, believeth all 
things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 8 Love never 
faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall be done 
away; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether 
there be knowledge, it shall be done away. 9 For we know in 
part, and we prophesy in part; 10 but when that which is 
perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away. 11 
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I 
thought as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put 
away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, darkly; 
but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I 
know fully even as also I was fully known. 13 But now 
abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these 
is love. 

D. G. CiN came to America to prepare himself for Chris- 
tian service in his own great, needy country. After years 
of strenuous study he turned his face toward home with the 
intellectual equipment that he felt would enable him to do 
his best for the kingdom of God. One thing stood tempo- 
rarily in his way — ^he had no money for traveling expense. 
Because of his many courses in chemistry he sought work 
in a chemical plant at Perth Amboy, N'ew Jersey. The 
superintendent who interviewed him recognized his ability 
and training and finally offered him a place in the research 
laboratory at an annual salary of eight thousand dollars, 
provided Cin would agree to stay with the company fifteen 
years. This Cin refused to do. He had dedicated himself 
to God and the church and he recognized that his educa- 



THE GREAT INVESTMENT 95 

tion was not his own to be sold to the highest bidder. Tell- 
ing the superintendent that he had important work in 
China, he left and found employment elsewhere. 

In the fall Cin appeared at the Foochow Conference and 
asked for work. Bishop Keeney appointed him as Director 
of Religious Education and Social Service in two great dis- 
tricts at a salary of thirty dollars a month. There was 
quite a difference between $8,000 and $360, but the happi- 
ness of his heart and the opportunities ahead more than 
made up to Cin the $7,640 that he was losing in salary. On 
the way to his station Cin was seized, bound, and beaten; 
but even this did not dampen the ardor of his enthusiasm. 
The consciousness of working with Jesus as a partner in 
the great program of Kingdom building was to him 
supreme recompense and satisfaction. 

You who are reading this book, you have strength, intel- 
lectual ability, ambition, and possibilities of further de- 
velopment. You must decide to whom these belong and for 
what purpose you will use them. For several weeks you 
have been studying the problem of life investment. You 
have been thinking about an adequate life aim. You have 
studied the general principles on the basis of which a voca- 
tional decision should be made. You have discussed the 
opportunities and responsibilities in various lines of work. 
The question that confronts you now is. What are you 
going to do about it? 

1. What is the most important decision of your life? 
The supreme decision that confronts you is whether or not 
you will accept the kingdom of God as the aim of your lifers 
endeavor. This means the recognition of Jesus Christ as 
your Lord and Master and an earnest purpose to cooperate 
with him in the things he is trying to do. It asserts also 
your willingness to be used by God as he makes his will 
known to you. This is the decision that everyone is called 
upon to make. It is inherent in the acceptance of the 
Christian life itself, for if one is not willing so to pledge 
himself one is not a Christian nor a follower of Jesus. 

Christ never made it easy for his followers. When the 
rich young ruler ran to him, asking, ^^What shaU I do that 
I may inherit eternal life ?^^ Jesus answered, "Go, sell what- 
soever thou hast, and give to the poor : . . . and come, 



96 BUILDERS OF THE KINGDOM 

follow me'' (Mark 10. 21). To others he said: ''He that 
loveth father or mother . . . son or daughter more 
than me, is not worthy of me. And he that doth not take 
his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me. He that 
findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for 
my sake shall find it'' (Matt. 10. 37-39). Becoming a 
Christian is the supreme decision, and if that is a genuine 
rebirth, in which indifference gives place to love, and 
selfishness is replaced by service, the question of a vocation 
will in due time take care of itself. 

2. What is the next step ? Your next decision may be 
concerning full-time service. This might come almost 
simultaneously with the supreme decision, or you might 
arrive at it gradually as the opportunities of Christian work 
are unfolded. It might even come after one's preparation 
for life is well toward completion. The season is unim- 
portant, but the ultimate finding of your task in the world 
in terms of your largest usefulness to the kingdom of God 
is of greatest concern. 

God does not ask any young man or woman to go into 
work for which he or she is not fitted. He wants no failures 
among his leaders. He does not wish to limit the de- 
velopment of his workers nor to hinder the attainment of 
their full powers. He oifers the means of realizing their 
highest possibilities and will assure them of a useful and 
satisfactory life. The decision to give all your time to God 
and his kingdom is throwing yourself in line with the 
forces that underlie and which will in the end rule the 
world. Thus will you be dealing in the largest way with 
the great constructive and permanent things of life and 
eternity. 

3. What general preparation is necessary? High school 
must be finished, and a college course should be pursued 
before one is ready for professional Kingdom work. It 
is quite often true that final, detailed decisions with re- 
gard to lifework should be left open until college studies, 
college experiences, and college point of view have brought 
added knowledge and experience. One may have early 
preferences, but these are based upon inadequate knowledge 
of the work and only partial understanding of one's 
abilities. 



THE GREAT INVESTMENT 97 

Your college should be selected with four things in 
mind: First, its moral and religious atmosphere: This 
should be wholesome, vital, sane, modern, and attractive. 
Secondly, the range of its courses and the completeness of 
its equipment: One's education and, too often, one's inter- 
ests are limited by the range of courses that one meets in 
college. A good equipment in terms of buildings, labora- 
tory apparatus, and library is essential to a good education. 
Thirdly, the quality of the faculty and the inspirational 
tone of the institution: A college is no greater than its 
teachers. Their training, abilities, and vision will be the 
source of much of your inspiration. No one can afford to 
place oneself under small men. Your college course must 
generate a great enthusiasm in you for work and send you 
forth with the highest ideals of personal life and service. 
Fourthly, the character of the student body: The closest 
friendships of your life will be made in college, and the 
men and women who will occupy places of intimacy and 
influence must be of the highest worth. In no small way 
the richness of one's life is determined by the quality of 
friendships that surround it, so choose well the college that 
will make this essential contribution. 

The arts course maketh the full man, so especially those 
who look forward to full-time Christian service should seek 
as good a background of history, economics, philosophy, 
and literature as possible. Specialization should be post- 
poned so as to give adequate time for arts work, though arts 
might be combined to some extent with such sciences 
as agriculture and engineering. The preparation is not 
complete, however, until the next step of specialization is 
fulfilled. 

4. What specialization is required? Toward the end of 
your arts course you must decide the specific field you wish 
to enter upon the basis of the principles laid down in 
Chapter II and in the light of all the facts and experiences 
available. At first you will state this decision in general 
terms, such as religious work, business, agriculture, medi- 
cine. When your arts course is finished, and specialization 
has begun, you will be able to choose the exact work you 
will follow and name it definitely, as preaching, religious 
education, insurance, or some other line of business; agri- 



98 BUILDEES OF THE KINGDOM 

cultural missions, or surgery. This is the vocational de- 
cision, but it is made naturally in the light of the facts as 
they develop in the course of preparation. While one may 
approach this final action with his mind prejudiced in 
favor of this or that field, it should not be closed until all 
the facts are at hand. Your whole future depends on the 
wisdom of your choice. 

5. How will you decide definitely where to locate? 
When you are thoroughly prepared you must decide where 
you will locate. Will it be in the TJnited States or China 
or Africa or South America ? Will it be in the city or the 
country? This will depend in part on what opens. Liv- 
ingstone had set his heart upon going to China, but the 
way was closed when he was ready for work. Africa, how- 
ever, welcomed him with open arms, and he found there his 
glorious career. God has a place for the prepared indi- 
vidual. A great opportunity will be seeking you even 
before you are ready to accept it, and never will you lack 
an open door for constructive service. 

6. How may you feel the call of God? The call of God 
to full-time service may come in a number of ways, and the 
experience of each will vary somewhat. A person may have 
an intense emotional experience because he has fought the 
acceptance of what he knew he really ought to do. When 
he finally makes the decision, great peace and satisfaction 
fill his soul. Another may have grown up with the idea 
of Christian service and have only the quiet conviction that 
he must do this or that. By study, meditation, and prayer 
you can find out what God would have you do. When the 
path is clear, go! 

Bishop Thoburn^s experience was a little extraordinary. 
When he was asked to be a missionary he immediately 
answered, "IVe not been called.^^ As he thought it over, 
however, he could not think of any adequate reason why he 
should not go, so he went. In his case the very absence of 
objections was a reason for going. 

7. What is the challenge to young people? {a) A big, 
hard task, — Dean Bosworth once said, "A strong man 
looks for a field, and not a hole.^^ It is the bigness of the 
task that makes Christian service so attractive. The forces 
of sin are formidable, and one who will attack evil in high 



THE GEEAT INVESTMENT 99 

places must have the courage of the men who stormed the 
Hindenburg line. Jesus calls the strong to be his followers 
by saying, "If any man would come after me, let him deny 
himself, and take up his cross, and follow me'' (Matt. 16. 
24) . The most diflRcult mission fields are well manned, for 
the call of the heroic makes its appeal to those who feel the 
hand of Christ upon their shoulders. The example of 
courage and endurance which we see first in Jesus and then 
in Stephen, in Paul, in Peter, in the early martyrs who 
gave their lives that Christianity might not die, and even 
to-day in the staunch fidelity of the Armenians and in un- 
quenchable enthusiasm of the missionary pioneers is an 
inspiration that calls from us the greatest loyalty and the 
most sacrificial investments. Dr. J. C. Eoper said that 
Central Africa claimed the ablest men of England in his 
day, and the fact that fourteen of his own classmates were 
buried there testifies to the sacrifice of such an enlistment. 
Maltbie D. Babcock said of such men as these that "they 
want an arena, not a nest.^' It is a place for struggle and 
conquest that appeals, not a soft place in which to lie, and 
Christian service on one of its many front lines offers to 
young men of character and purpose, intellectual ability, 
and physical courage their greatest opportunities. The 
Kingdom needs such spirits as Browning describes in 
"Asolando'^ : 

One wlio never turned his breast, but marclied breast forward^ 

Never doubted clouds would break. 
Never dreamed, though right was worsted, wrong would 
triumph. 
Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better. 
Sleep to wake. 

(b) A compelling tosh. — Two thousand years ago the 
command was given ^^Go ye V^ The disciples who in the 
past heeded that command have made possible the civiliza- 
tion of this modern world. An ever-increasing number of 
those whose chief object in life is service to others are 
making more definite the ideals of the kingdom of God. 
The full realization of Christ^s program in the world awaits 
your activity in cooperation with the larger army of his 
followers which is now being mobilized. What are you 



100 BUILDERS OF THE KINGDOM 

going to do as God calls for enlistments? What is to be 
your part in the building of the Kingdom? 

Questions tor Thought and Discussion 

1. What is the supreme decision of every life? What 
does it involve ? 

2. On what basis should one decide to enter full-time 
Christian service? 

3. How does training assist in a life service decision? 

4. Whom does God call? 

5. Is God calling you? 



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